Former Western Force players Jeremy Thrush, Jonno Lance and Chris Heiberg will head up the Club’s coaching staff for the maiden Super Rugby Next Gen campaign which starts on Saturday.
The Force will compete in the new competition featuring rising stars from the four Australian Super Rugby clubs which will run throughout February with all games live streamed on rugby.com.au’s Youtube channel.
Scheduled across three weekends in February, the fixtures will support the development of the clubs' emerging talent while feeding directly into the Australia U20 program.
Academy boss Thrush will lead the side as head coach, with Lance and Heiberg taking up the roles as his assistants. Chris Hallett will be the team manager.
While the competition is predominantly focused on the U20 age group, to promote competitiveness and broader player development goals, the Force and Brumbies will also be permitted to field players over the age of 20.
The Force will largely draw from the Club’s Academy, Super Rugby wider training squad and the RugbyWA pathway.
The weekly Force 23-player team will be confirmed on Thursday morning prior to each round.
The WA side opens its season this Saturday away to the NSW Waratahs at Eric Twedale Stadium in Parramatta, before home games in Rounds 2 and 3.
The Force will host the ACT Brumbies in Round 2 as part of a double-header alongside the Force’s Swyftx Super Rugby Pacific opener on Saturday 14 February. Next Gen kick-off will be 2pm WST, with the Super Rugby Pacific game starting at 4:35pm WST.
In Round 3, the Force-Reds’ Next Gen will be played at Wanneroo Rugby Club from 12pm WST, ahead of the Force-Blues’ Super Rugby Pacific clash at Arena Joondalup’s HIF Health Insurance Oval from 4:35pm WST.
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Western Force coaching staff
Head coach: Jeremy Thrush
Assistant coach: Jonno Lance, Chris Heiberg
Team manager: Chris Hallett
Fixtures
Saturday 7 February, 10:30am WST – NSW Waratahs vs Western Force – Eric Twedale Stadium, Parramatta
Saturday 14 February, 2pm WST – Western Force vs ACT Brumbies – HBF Park, Perth (double-header)
Saturday 21 February, 12pm WST – Western Force vs Queensland Reds – Wanneroo Rugby Club, Kingsway
All games live streamed on rugby.com.au’s YouTube channel
