In a thrilling finish to the match, both sides had the chance to win it after the final siren.
Brumbies fly half Matt Giteau had the first chance, but his 45-metre drop goal attempt was charged down by David Pocock.
The ball stayed alive and the Force won a penalty near the touch line, but O'Connor's attempt from 51m out fell 15m short.
The Brumbies kept the play going but were soon fighting for survival in their defensive 22m after the Force regained possession.
But it was not to be, with the Brumbies earning a match-saving penalty and Giteau ending the contest by kicking the ball out of play to the boos of the 14,477 crowd.
The match marked the end to a tumultuous seven days for the Brumbies, who were on the end of an extraordinary blast from coach Tony Rea after last Saturday's embarrassing 29-20 loss to the last-placed Lions.
The Brumbies showed more defensive fight this week but their skills were deplorable, committing a glut of unforced errors to give the Force the upper hand.
The Force should have run out easy winners after controlling play for much of the match.
Brumbies skipper Rocky Elsom, playing his first match in almost six months after recovering from a worrying hamstring injury, suffered a major scare in the 51st minute when his knee twisted awkwardly at a breakdown.
But the Wallabies captain battled on and played out the match despite limping off at the final siren.
In an action-packed start to the game, the Brumbies took just four minutes to break through the Force's defence, with a series of quick passes sending winger Henry Speight over in the corner.
The Force promised their fans attacking football and it is exactly what they delivered early on, passing up two penalty-scoring chances in order to attack via line-outs.
Although the tactic failed to reap immediate dividends, the Force were back on level terms when prop Kieran Longbottom's speculative long-range pass somehow made it through the hands of Brumbies back Adam Ashley-Cooper, allowing Sam Wykes to cross over untouched.
Wykes was a constant menace throughout the first half as the Force made a series of raids on the Brumbies' tryline.
Despite some close calls, the Brumbies managed to weather the storm to go into the break tied at 10-10.
O'Connor missed two penalties early in the second half and also fluffed a try when the ball came loose as he unleashed a desperate lunge for the line.
But the 20-year-old, who is still yet to decide on his future, gave the Force a vital 13-10 lead in the 71st minute when he kicked truly from 35m out tucked away on the touchline.
However, former Force star Giteau locked up the scores two minutes later with a 47m penalty, with neither side able to land the killer blow in a dramatic finish to the contest.
Force: 13 (S Wykes try; J O'Connor conversion, 2 penalties)
Brumbies: 13 (H Speight try; M Giteau conversion, 2 penalties)
-AAP
Tags: sport, rugby-union, super-14, act, canberra-2600, wa, perth-6000 First posted May 22, 2011 00:14:00
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