Veteran Australian back Kurtley Beale is "gutted" he couldn't return from injury with a better result after his Western Force suffered a loss that dents their Super Rugby play-off hopes.
The Force went down 40-19 to the Auckland Blues at Eden Park on Friday, a result that lifts the defending champions into the top six for the first time this season.
It comes at the expense of the seventh-placed visitors, who have four rounds to recapture a play-off spot, having never reached the knockout stage of a full Super Rugby competition.
One positive for the Force was the return of 36-year-old Wallabies international Beale, who ruptured his Achilles tendon 10 months ago and only returned to full training last month.
He was lively at fullback, finishing off a try in the corner and making a number of elusive runs.
"Yeah, good to be back, but disappointed in the end," Beale told Sky TV after the match.
"You know, the Blues really turned it on there.
"The boys are gutted but we're learning little bits by little bits and we'll get to that full performance hopefully next week against the Brumbies."
Earlier this week, Beale admitted he came close to retiring during his recuperation period.
He had previously been sidelined for more than a year while fighting sexual assault charges.
Beale was cleared of the allegations, which he always denied, and was recalled last year to the Wallabies squad before injury struck.
He admitted he was nervous before kick-off.
"Yeah, a little bit of butterflies there, but that's rugby," he said.
"You know, you love the game for what it is. And you know, I really, really enjoy playing with the Perth boys.
"The Force are a great club and there's a lot of young guys with a lot of potential. It's great to be a part of it."
Force flanker Carlo Tizzano scored his 12th try of the season to extend his lead as the competition's top try-scorer in 2025.
Tizzano sits alongside Malcolm Marx (Lions, 2018), Folau Fainga (Brumbies, 2019) and Codie Taylor (Canterbury Crusaders, 2023) for the most tries scored by a forward in a Super Rugby season.
The Force host the ACT Brumbies next week before finishing the regular season with matches against the Fijian Drua and New South Wales Waratahs.
