Western Force 2021

Stop it

Does this mean his moving his medical degree to Perth, is he still studying to become a doctor ? or focused completely on Rugby. I think he should be starting somewhere so the Force is a good move for him and for Rugby. Its not like its a Sio Slipper arrangement where they have earned there strips and now just managing load.

Western Force centre Tevita Kuridrani eyes Wallabies recall after landing at new Super Rugby home
Nick Taylor - The West Australian - Sun, 17 January 2021



The K-train has arrived at the Western Force.
And powerful ball-running centre Tevita Kuridrani says the move from the Brumbies is a chance to get back on the radar of Wallabies coach Dave Rennie.

“I was going to move overseas but the (Force) offer came up. I thought why not try that,” Kuridrani said.

The move to WA brought a couple of reunions with coach Tim Sampson and former Wallaby and Force captain Matt Hodgson, now head of rugby.
“Tim, he’s very good. I remember when I first met him in Canberra he was coaching the (Tuggeranong) Vikings.
“When this came up, and to know he was coaching, really helped me to come over.
“Hodgo, we played together a few times on the international stage.
“He and Tim helped me.”

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I like this, a player having a go at getting back in Wallabies, rather than dropping his lip and leaving.

There was a time not long ago when Kuridrani was our best back. His form has been well down on that recently, but he has the potential to get back there and hasn't lost the attitude. I think he and Naisarani were training together following missing the Wallabies squad. At peak form, I'd still have Kuridrani starting at 13 with Petaia either on the wing or the bench (amazingly talented but not the finished article at 13).

Good news for the Force either way. We had Marcel Brache start a few games at 13 last year.

TK would have to really turn it around. He’s been patchy for at least 2 yrs and I’d say Petaia & Paisami are both definitely in front of him and I reckon Walton will be too. He was good in the Super AU final, so I guess he’s shown be an still reach that level, but I think that was his first good game for 4-5 games from memory.

People will rightly point out that Petaia stumbled at Test level last year, and fair enough but unless TK can wind the clock back he isn’t the solution.

Good luck to him if he proves me wrong but I think people are ranking him based on form he hasn’t shown consistently for some time.

Western Force extended squad looking good at the 3-day retreat at Gilford Grammar.
Main squad now starts a month-long focus prior to the first game against the Brumbies at HBF on 19 Feb.

Lost of positive feedback from the Internationals about the level of preparation and fitness.
Some hard, hot days ahead.

TSR, I think you might be writing TK off a little prematurely. He didn't have the best of years in SRAu 2020, but not nearly so far off his best level as you seem to be implying. Think, from memory (which isn't so good in the twilight years) he missed a couple of games for the Brumbies but was nearing good form by the end of the competition. It also seemed that he was trying to change his style of play to have a bit more ball distribution in his game. Personally, I'd still have him rated a better test player than either Petaia or Paisami and certainly well in front of Walton. He may well fall behind all three of them in the next couple to few years but right now I'd still plump for him as the Wallaby No 13. Anyway, hope he has a pearler of a year with the Force.

He didn’t have his best year in 2019 either (although he did come good in the second half and was in good form by the end). I seem to recall he was inconsistent a year or two before that too - but happy to be corrected if my recollection is off.

Sure - opinions are subjective, but the fact he was not in the Wallabies squad and that he wasn’t re-signed by the Brumbies supports my take on his form. Any suggestion he is still the Wallabies best 13 is best on reputation, and the fact that Petaia struggled to adjust to the nuances that Rennie/Wisemantle are trying to imbed.

I do concede that putting Walton in front of him at the moment was premature/not realistic. Walton might surpass him but if a couple of injuries had struck right now I agree TK would be ahead in the pecking order.

If I’m wrong, great. At his best he’s a solid test player.

Given it is a Western Force thread I do at least expect he’ll be highly motivated which might be a huge bonus for them.

My 4 centres would be Hodge, Paisami, Petaia & TK.

With Paisami most likely playing more 12 (and Simone & Ikitau IMO being average) Kuridrani has a great shot and getting back in

I thought Petaia was pretty out of form by the end of last year. I think he still has plenty to prove before he's an automatic pick at 13 and i don't see why we wouldn't revert to TK if he found form.

Petaia was in excellent form in Super Rugby, but got injured in the final. He played all over TK in the last round fixture (and TK bounced back nicely in the final to be fair).

He didn’t have a good international series with a combination of trying to hard and struggling with his decision making/execution.

Hunter Paisami is clearly next in the pecking order based on Rennie’s selection.

I’ll stand by my view that the notion TK is next in line is based on reputation. But that doesn’t mean he won’t be a great signing for the Force. I’m not denying at all that TK at his best is a quality player. If his changing of environment motivated him to play at or near his best consistently then he’ll be back in the frame.

Richard Kahui -'All I ever wanted to do was be an All Black. And then it all gets taken away'

Jamie Lyall - RugbyPass - 19 January 2021

There were more than 36,000 souls teeming inside Suncorp Stadium on 13 May 2012, but slumped deep in the innards of the ground, Richard Kahui had never felt more alone.
The stadium shook and throbbed all around him in great percussive belches. Out on the paddock, the reigning Super Rugby champion Reds and Kahui’s title-chasing Chiefs traded blows like two prize-fighters. The empty changing room, though, was desolate. Kahui clutched the wreckage of his left shoulder and wept for the career that was apparently being ripped from him.

This was the fifth time the joint had blown. Each trauma, every dislocation, meant six months to repair the damage and many more to rebuild shredded confidence and dormant skills. Just as Kahui hit his straps, the shoulder would pop, and the whole sorry cycle began again.

Kahui calls himself the “old bull” of the Western Force. The boys in the squad have christened him koro – Maori for ‘grandfather’ – and he loves it. No longer does he fret when he stoops to level an opponent; no more does anxiety paralyse him when he feels the merest twinge in that blasted shoulder.

“My last one was in 2013 and it took me two years after that to fully not worry about it and think that every time it gets hurt, oh my god, it’s gone again,” Kahui says.

“Obviously I’ve aged and lost a little bit of speed and strength. Right now, I feel like I am in as good shape as I can be physically. I feel as good as I’ve ever felt. I’m hitting some really good numbers with the GPS and what I’m doing in the gym. It’s just making sure that I’m able to nail that rugby side and adjust from Japan to Super Rugby.


“Signing those world-class players shows how serious they are,” Kahui says. “They’ve put a lot of effort and time into the academy system here and you can see that in the boys coming to training every week, it’s incredible how they are growing just being in the environment.

“And the staff learned a lot from last season, Tim Sampson hadn’t been a head coach in Super Rugby before, and his assistants were the same. Everyone is better for the experience.

“We will celebrate when we get that first win, but we just need to back that up every week. Ultimately the message from Andrew Forrest is that we want to win Super Rugby, we don’t just want to be competitive. They want a title.”
Serenity in his body; a competitive drive in his soul. There is life in the old bull yet.

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Good to see Toni Pulu in WF training kit today.

Argentinian stars primed for Super Rugby season
January 19, 2021

Having joined their new teammates at last week’s pre-season camp at Guildford Grammar School, the Force’s four Argentinian representatives are delighted to be back doing what they love.

Tomás Cubelli, Tomás Lezana, Santiago Medrano and Domingo Miotti faced the media for the first time this morning, as they expressed their passion and excitement to be at the club.

With over 130 combined international appearances for Los Pumas between the quartet, the players are embracing the familiar summer heat and tough training sessions at the Force.
“The training has been very hard. The Super Rugby competition is very difficult and it is necessary that the training is demanding,” young flyhalf Miotti explained.

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I'd be interested to see how the Argentineans are used. All could easily be starters. You'd think it would be wiser to start Holmes at tighthead and have Medrano come off the bench.

Will be a cracking first up game against the Brumbies. If played at home, I imagine it'll have a 2006 feel to it. Reckon we might see some handbags and a few red cards.

Force fans should have high expectations this year.
Stating props are second only to the Brumbies. Hooker maybe equivalent to Tahs as the least impressive
Second row is not hugely impressive but no team is this year so not really a discriminator.
Lezana and Stander put the back row on equal footing with the best in SRAU.
Cubelli and Miotti is a huge advantage over everyone. Miotti the best 10 in SRAU
Centre pairing of Godwin and TK second only to the Reds.
And a back 3 of Pulu, Ralston and Kearney is at least equal to all opponents.

They should be aiming for the final at least.

Pleased to see that it's for 2 years.

Junior Wallaby joins the Force
January 20, 2021

The Western Force has added further depth to their 2021 Super Rugby squad with the signing of hooker Jack Winchester.

Having won the prestigious John Eales Rugby Excellence Scholarship at Bond University on the Gold Coast in 2019, Winchester brings a wealth of talent and promise to the Force.

Signing a two-year contract with the Force from the Queensland Reds academy, the Junior Wallabies and Australian Schoolboys representative is excited for the upcoming Super Rugby season.

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My realistic hope is to come third (ahead of the Rebels and Tahs) snd then hope 8 games has sapped Queensland's forward depth.