Western Force prop Santiago Medrano cannot wait to crack in for the club’s opening pre-season trial game against the Queensland Reds on Saturday after overcoming a bicep injury.
The 27-year-old Argentine sustained the bicep injury in Game 3 of the Force’s four-game Toyota Challenge against the Cheetahs in September but has made good progress to be available for Saturday’s clash at Ballymore Stadium which starts at 1pm WST and will be streamed live on Stan Sport.
“It’s been really good,” Medrano told reporters. “To be honest, we don’t have any major problem after the surgery.
“I was pretty lucky to have the injury at the end of the season. I had two months off to rehab my arm. It’s been good, ready to go.”
Medrano, who was third in last year’s Nathan Sharpe medal, has been joined by five-time All Black Atu Moli and Australia A rep Harry Hoopert as front row options this Super Rugby Pacific season.
The 33-cap Argentina international joined the Force prior to the 2021 season and penned a contract extension with the club in August.
Buenos Aires native Medrano, who married long-time partner Sofia in his homeland in December, said Perth now felt like “home” and was excited about the Force’s future for this year and beyond.
“This is my fourth season,” he said. “It feels like home after four years. I’m pretty happy with the team, with the coaches.
“I think they’ve been doing a really good job from top to the bottom of the club. Everyone knows where we’re going. I think there’s some good plans for the future.
“I’m really excited for this season. I think we’ve got a really good team and we can have a few wins and get into the playoffs.”
Heading into his fourth season in the Force blue, Medrano was asked to compare this pre-season to campaigns gone by.
“I think we’re really good,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of players who’ve been coached by Crono (head coach Simon Cron) for one year now. We know the way he wants us to play.
“We start to know each other, the way we play, that engagement between the team is really important. You can see it and feel it when you’re out there training or playing.”
Force scrum-half Issak Fines-Leleiwasa said the group was excited to return to competitive action with the Super Rugby season only a few weeks away, starting with a Friday 23 February clash against the Hurricanes at HBF Park.
“It’s been a good couple of weeks of pre-season,” Fines-Leleiwasa said. “You put all your practice into these trial games, so we’re pretty excited to get out there against the Reds this Saturday.”
Tickets go on sale from 10am WST Thursday 1 February for the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season via ticketmaster.com.au.
The Force will play a second pre-season trial game in Perth against the ACT Brumbies on Saturday 10 February 5pm WST at Revo Fitness Stadium. The game is free entry, with the club's annual Fan Day to be held from 4pm WST.
