Head coach Simon Cron enlists 7's star Max Burey to guide his troops on his debut match this Saturday in Christchurch.
Burey is known by many to have a relentless nature, one that continuously ‘turns up’, an attitude that has awarded him the #10 jersey, and the platform to reach his ultimate goal of playing Super Rugby.
"This is the best opportunity I have been given. Playing Super Rugby in Australia is exactly where I want to be. I thought if I don't play soon, I'll never get the chance, so I am very happy to be given the opportunity to debut for the Force," Bruey claimed.
"Unfortunately, a few guys have been injured, but that allows me to keep progressing along. Crono kept telling me, "keep turning up, you will get a shot eventually." It's great to get feedback like that because if you aren't, the week can get quite long."
"This year, I have been fly-in fly-out training in Perth and I have been in Hong Kong and Singapore with the 7's. Recently I would fly in on Sunday and then fly back to Sydney the Thursday just to train with the team."
The call from Cron, caught Burey by surprise, swiftly moving into action, changing his mindset into game week mentality.
"Crono was pretty brief; he said, "get home, I'll see you in Queensland tomorrow". He is a pretty easy guy to talk to in my first year here and first year being coached by him."
"The boys are excited to have us (him and Nikolai Foliaki) back; I think I bring a bit of new energy. With Finsey at #9 we play a similar brand of footy, so that will be good to speed up the game and make the pace a bit faster."
"It's great to have guys outside of me like Hamish Stewart, who I can lean on for some experience."
His determination to grow and involvement in the Australian 7's program over the past two years have proven pivotal in his development, acknowledging his ability and perseverance to play XV's professionally.
"I'm a bit of an older debutant; I've been training in the professional environment for a couple of years now, so I think it's that natural progression."
"I only came over last year in the preseason on an EDS deal. The move was to progress me further as a footy player; I thought it was achievable for me to debut eventually if I put in the work. Crono would notice this, and he rewards players for it, I knew he would get me to a point where I would be Super Rugby Ready."
"Spending the whole preseason guided by Crono was a great experience. He gave me a lot of extra training after hours to keep progressing. In a pivotal role at 10, I have benefited immensely from the knowledge he has passed on."
Captain Michael Wells, is confident in Burey’s craft "It's great having Max come in, he's come from a great program in Norths and in terms of stepping into a playmaker position, he's running the show and feels like he's been here before,” he commented.
Burey will run out this Saturday against the Crusaders, earning cap #241 for the Western Force.
