The Western Force and Rugby Australia are delighted to announce Wallaby fly-half Ben Donaldson has signed until 2025, committing to the West for the next two seasons.
The skilful 24-year-old bolsters Force's fly-half stocks with his versatility, adding depth to the playmaker's position.
With 37 Super Rugby Caps for the NSW Waratahs, Donaldson is known as a quick, goal-kicking fly-half, impressing with his calm and composed nature in high-pressure situations.
Donaldson made his debut for the Wallabies against Italy in November 2022 after his breakthrough Australia A campaign. The Randwick product was more recently named in Eddie Jones' April Wallabies camp as one of the two fly-halves.
Donaldson is eager to link up with head coach Simon Cron once again after their shared Waratahs time from 2018-2019.
“I’m really excited to continue my career in Perth. I’m really impressed by the program that Simon and the coaches are running and also by the squad that’s developing at the Western Force,” Donaldson commented.
"He [Simon Cron] drives really high standards and expects a lot out of his players, and for me personally, it will be really helpful for my game to have a coach like Crono to drive those standards.
The team has plenty of talent, playing some unreal footy this season and I’m looking forward to earning the respect of the supporters and my teammates and getting an opportunity to contribute my skills and work ethic to the squad.
With the news of Nic White heading over, I think it will be a great experience and partnership to play with him. Also, working and competing with the other number 10's is really exciting and will hopefully help the club on a whole.
It’s a really exciting time in Australian Rugby at the moment and I’m looking forward to continuing to improve as a player and fight for opportunities for higher honours.”
Head coach Simon Cron attests Donalson's proven ability will add much-needed depth to the squad.
“As a team we need to grow our positional competition. It’s critical that we have competition in each position so when we train, the intensity and accuracy tests our execution. Ultimately practice execution, becomes game reality," Cron commented.
"Dono [Donaldson] is a world-class player and a great human who will add to our squad. In talking with the other 10's, they are excited to have him onboard because it will only make everyone push to be their best.
He is a triple threat in attack with a running game and kick & pass skillsets, which means the defence must think. Combine this with his drive to learn and the desire to be his best, we are excited to get him over here.
We look forward to putting him in different situations and scenarios that will help him develop as a player and give him the structures around him that he needs to be successful."
Ben Donaldson
Position: Flyhalf/Fullback
Height: 183cm
Weight: 87kg
Date of Birth: 4/4/1999
Place of Birth: Sydney, New South Wales
Test debut: 2022 v Italy in Florence
Test caps: 2
Super Rugby debut: 2020 v Western Force in Sydney (playing for the NSW Waratahs)
Super Rugby caps: 38
