Western Force acting head coach Will Eggleston has talked up the benefits of the side’s three-game South African spring tour ahead of flying home with two wins in the bag.
The Force took a 30-player squad on a two-and-a-half-week trip to South Africa, firstly in Bloemfontein where they beat Toyota Challenge hosts, the Free State Cheetahs 38-24, before narrowly going down to Emerging Ireland 29-24 with the game coming down to the final play.
The WA side then flew to South Africa’s western cape to Stellenbosch where they beat the DHL Western Province XV 34-33 in a friendly on Saturday to cap the tour.
The tour comes after a good training block for the squad, excluding those involved with the Wallabies, which culminated in four games including the 73-19 win over Perth Gold on September 21 at UWA Sports Park.
Eggleston pointed out the side had achieved its first away win since May 2022 during the South Africa tour but also elaborated the goals of the tour had been achieved.
“To win the series 2-1 and have an opportunity on the siren to beat Emerging Ireland is something we can be proud of as a group,” Eggleston said.
“We set out to achieve four things and I feel like we have achieved those.”
The premise of the trip, as Eggleston indicated, was to expose the playing group to more games against high-level opposition with international-quality players and South African sides in their own backyard.
The tour was also geared towards enhancing player and staff development and explore different roles, to strengthen cohesion and strategy, and build genuine relationships through enjoyment.
Several new additions got their first exposure to playing alongside their new teammates to develop on-field cohesion but also time together as a group on tour to build off-field connections.
“The great thing about touring is they are in each other’s pockets,” Eggleston said. “We kept a pretty simple game plan for all three games so anyone could step in and do the job.
“It was great to see them all enjoying each other’s company, playing cards, playing guitar and sharing stories. This ultimately helps on field performance.”
Eggleston was reluctant to single out individuals, adding that the whole group had been brilliant throughout the tour.
But there were noteworthy performances led by Harry Potter’s return from a long-term ankle injury lay-off, playing all three games in South Africa and scoring three tries.
Front-rower Tom Robertson also made his return in Force colours for the first time since 2023 after an ACL injury and his Oxford sabbatical, playing two games after jetting in from Wallabies duty.
Back-rower Will Harris was one of only two touring members to start all three games, bagging two tries along the way, along with newcomer Mac Grealy who impressed at both full-back and wing.
A raft of new signings also got valuable minutes with their new teammates, while Academy quintet Justin Landman, Ronan Leahy, Dane Sawers, Albert Alcock and Doug Philipson got deserved game-time.
“We saw young players stepping up in big moments,” Eggleston said.
“This was a great investment from the Force to give our guys more game time and learn valuable lessons which we will benefit from in Super Rugby.
“I’m proud to lead the group and offer a thank you to (CEO) Niamh (O’Connor) and Goody (head of rugby Chris Goodman) for the opportunity.”
The squad will next enjoy a three-week break before returning for pre-season training from November 11 ahead of the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season which starts on February 15 at HBF Park against Moana Pasifika.
New recruits Harry Johnson-Holmes, Vaiolini Ekuasi and Matt Proctor will also soon re-located to Perth to link up with the Force squad for pre-season ahead of the Club’s 20th season in 2025.
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