Western Force defence coach Will Eggleston has reflected on the lessons learned from the concluded Toyota Challenge against the Cheetahs but also spoken excitedly about the arrival of new signings Nic White and Ben Donaldson.
White and Donaldson have just concluded their Wallabies’ World Cup duties and will now enjoy a break before linking up with the Force for the first time in December, having signed deals from the Brumbies and Waratahs respectively.
The bulk of the Force squad will resume pre-season in early November after completing the four-game Toyota Challenge against South Africa’s Currie Cup-winning Cheetahs. The Cheetahs won the series 3-1, capped by Saturday’s 32-22 triumph over the Force at Claremont’s Revo Fitness Stadium.
Eggleston reflected on the four-game series, which offered plenty of lessons for the Force group coming up against a hardened, experienced opposition.
“When you look at it and it says 3-1, it can be disappointing, but we managed to give out 17 debuts across the four games,” Eggleston told 91.3 Sport FM. “We managed to take some guys with us to South Africa. If the series wasn’t on, we’d just be training.
“That’s really pleasing to see those guys away from rugby and to help develop their journey for Super Rugby next year. There’s lots we learned, especially about our game.
“You look at Saturday, we turned the ball over 18 times. If you’re doing that in a game, it’s going to be very hard to win. One thing that’s improved is our kicking and when to kick, it’s just the execution we’ve got to work on now. It’s really pleasing to play these four games heading into next season.”
The Cheetahs’ line-up boasted 88-cap Springboks fly-half Ruan Pienaar, plus seasoned pros like Rynier Bernardo, Friedle Olivier, Jeandre Rudolph, Robert Ebersohn and captain Victor Seketeke.
“The good thing about playing against the Cheetahs is it gives us a different playing style to play against,” he said. “They’re big South African men, they’re all around that 30, 31, 32-year-old mark. They’ve all been overseas playing in different competitions around Europe.
“They offer a different style of game around their maul, around their set-piece and around their kicking game which we don’t necessarily get in Super Rugby a lot. There are things we’ve taken from them. Our guys now see the rigours of playing against a big South African side and where you need to be physically.
“With the maul, there’s technical things to stop it but a lot of it is the physicality and mindset. They’ve had a taste of it but it’s now about taking those learnings into Super Rugby.”
The Force were able to expose more players to the level, enhancing their squad depth, with the aforementioned White and Donaldson to come in, along with scrum-half Issak Fines-Leleiwasa who was part of the Wallabies’ World Cup squad.
White, 33, has played 62 caps for Australia along with 122 Super Rugby appearances for the Brumbies. Donaldson, 24, played all four 2023 World Cup games for the Wallabies at both full-back and fly-half, having been the eighth top point scorer in the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season with the Waratahs.
“Nic and Ben bring that big Test match experience and super rugby experience,” Eggleston said. “Nic has played in France and England, for his role at half-back he offers that game management, box-kicking style game as well as other things.
“Ben being able to play at 10 and 15 like he has done with the Wallabies, can change the make-up of our team. They’re guys who add to our positional depth. We’re trying to build positional depth in every position so the best man gets that jersey. Max (Burey), Reesjan (Pasitoa) and Ben will go at it. They’ll make each other better every day.
“Also Issak Fines-Leleiwasa coming back in as well. It’s fantastic for him to be over there, he absolutely deserved that shot to be part of the Wallabies’ World Cup campaign.”
White and Donaldson will also be joined by new signings Atu Moli, Harry Hoopert, Will Harris, Lopeti Faifua, Henry O’Donnell and Harry Potter at the Force for the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season.
The Force open their 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season on Friday 23 February 7pm against the Hurricanes at HBF Park. Memberships are on sale now, including the offer of free Junior Memberships. More info here.
