The Western Force will return to hosting seven games in the 2024 Harvey Norman Super Rugby Pacific season starting with their opener against the Hurricanes on Friday 23 February at HBF Park in a major boost for Club Members and supporters.
The news comes as the fixtures for the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season were confirmed today by SANZAAR.
The Force, who enjoyed an imposing 5-1 home record in front of the Sea of Blue in Simon Cron's first campaign as Head Coach in 2023, will play three of their first five games at HBF Park as they bid for a return to the finals for the first time since 2021.
In a further boost, the Force will not leave Australia in the opening five rounds, with trips to Melbourne and Canberra in Rounds 2 and 3, before hosting the Moana Pasifika on Friday 15 March and the Reds on Saturday 23 March in Rounds 4 and 5 respectively.
"We loved playing at home in front of our loyal fans, the Sea of Blue, in the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season and we cannot wait to get out in front of them again in 2024," Cron said.
"As a team we worked hard to on a lot of our foundation skills during 2023, as well as continuing to develop our team’s rugby brains on and off the field. The progression in these areas, as well as our on-field leadership, is starting to show through in trainings and meetings. The player group we have here are a great bunch of humans who are driven to learn, get better and push each other.”
New Force recruit and decorated Wallabies scrum-half Nic White is among the players who could make their Club Super Rugby debuts in the season opener against the Hurricanes, along with outside back Harry Potter, back-rower Will Harris and Wallabies fly-half Ben Donaldson.
The Force's season opener will be one of two home Friday night games, with the other five games to be played on Saturday evenings, with three 5:35pm WST starts.
There will be three home games against Australian opposition (Reds, Waratahs and Brumbies) and two against New Zealand opposition (Hurricanes and Crusaders) plus the Moana and the Fijian Drua.
Force CEO Tony Lewis said: "We're thrilled for our Members, fans and the team to host seven home games in the 2024 Super Rugby season, including six in the popular Saturday evening timeslots.
"We enjoyed excellent results in front of the Sea of Blue, who were our 24th player last season, and buoyed by some excellent off-season signings under the tutelage of Head Coach Simon Cron, we're ambitious about climbing the ladder in the upcoming campaign."
After trips to Fiji and Auckland in Rounds 6 and 7, the Force will rest during the bye in Round 8, before the highly anticipated visit of reigning premiers, the Crusaders, in Round 9 on Saturday 20 April. The 12-time Super Rugby champions have traditionally drawn big crowds in Perth.
The side will then travel across the Tasman to face the Highlanders and Chiefs in back-to-back games, before playing three of their final four games at home, starting with the Drua on Saturday 11 May and the Waratahs on Saturday 18 May.
The Force will take on the Reds in Brisbane in Round 14, before rounding out the regular season at home to the Brumbies on Saturday 1 June.
Western Force Memberships will go on sale next month and you can register your interest here today.
Download a copy of the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific Fixtures here.
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Full Western Force fixtures
Round – Date - Time (all WST) – Opponent - Venue
Rd 1 - Friday 23 February 19:00 – Hurricanes – HBF Park
Rd 2 - Friday 1 March 18:10 – Rebels – AAMI Park (Super Round)
Rd 3 - Saturday 9 March 11:35 – Brumbies – TBC
Rd 4 - Friday 15 March 19:00 – Moana – HBF Park
Rd 5 - Saturday 23 March 16:35 – Reds – HBF Park
Rd 6 - Saturday 30 March 9:05 – Drua – TBC, Fiji
Rd 7 - Friday 5 April 14:05 – Blues – TBC, Auckland
Rd 8 - BYE
Rd 9 - Saturday 20 April 17:35 – Crusaders – HBF Park
Rd 10 - Saturday 27 April 15:05 – Highlanders – Forsyth Barr Stadium
Rd 11 - Saturday 4 May 15:05 – Chiefs – FMG Stadium Waikato
Rd 12 - Saturday 11 May 19:55 – Drua – HBF Park
Rd 13 - Saturday 18 May 17:35 – Waratahs – HBF Park
Rd 14 - Saturday 25 May 17:35 – Reds – Suncorp Stadium
Rd 15 - Saturday 1 June 17:35 – Brumbies – HBF Park
