mens
super-rugby-pacific
The Western Force they didn’t talk about last year’s 26-33 loss to NSW Waratahs in the first ever Super Rugby AUS Grand Final as the Perth side hit silverware once again against the same opposition this weekend.
Max Burey was named player of the tournament after guiding the Force to a home decider 12 months ago, but the Force were beaten in a thriller at Pittwater Park. That match was played exactly one year ago on October 2, and those teams will soon compete again in the big dance.
Burey heads east ahead of the 2026 Super Rugby AUS campaign, with the Waratahs and Force meeting in a key round three game. The Force continued their unbeaten run with a 17-12 win last Sunday, securing a home final.
But the Tahs have already done enough to lock in the top two spots in the table, ensuring a renewal of this Super Rugby AUS rivalry. One-Test England international Nic Dolly captains a Force outfit that boasts the fortunes of the Wallabies and Australia Seven experience.
“They don’t mention last year. The group is completely different … there would be players who are the same but there’s no crowd,” Damian Steele said.
“Our focus was just to identify the areas where we were accurate over the weekend and we wanted to capitalize on that and then sort out some other areas.
“They’re going to be hurt. They rightly wanted to host … they’ve made some changes. Sid Harvey is obviously a very good footballer, he’s a real triple threat at the back, so he’ll be at a loss.”
“In terms of last year, it’s not mentioned, and we just want to sort out some areas from last weekend.”
Dolly will pack in the front row alongside Australian international Tom Robertson, who is among the Wallabies named in the side. 95-Test Kurtley Beale starts in the middle, with Dylan Pietsch on one wing and James O’Connor coming off the bench.
Harry McLaughlin-Phillips remains an unrestricted Wallabies prospect but has been named in the 34-man squad for the Bledisloe Cup series. ‘HMP’ will first suit up in the 10 jumpers for the Force, joining in-form scrum-half Nathan Hastie at fly-half.
The Force began their quest for Super Rugby AUS glory with a one-point win against Queensland Red in Brisbane, before running away 40-12 against ACT Brumbies next weekend – with Jack Daly and Hastie scoring doubles.
It all led to this. Super Rugby AUS Grand Final at Scotch College Playing Fields in Perth on Saturday afternoon, kicking off at 2.30pm WST.
“For the community, we want that success for the people. The organization itself … everybody’s dying to win,” Steele told reporters.
“Will the campaign be considered a success anyway? Potentially in some areas. But at the end of the day, this is a group of people who have been together for 10 weeks and we want to end it with a really positive experience.”
“For some of them, hopefully after this week, there will be an influx of positivity coming their way whatever that looks like. But for us and our organization and the Rugby WA community, it would be great to have a good crowd and a really positive game and then hopefully we can get some chocolates for them.”