Force 2022 Japan Developmental Tour

[Tazzmania]

Via Rugby.com.au

The Western Force have confirmed a 32-player squad for their two-match series against Japan Rugby League One side Urayasu D-Rocks.

New recruits Hamish Stewart and Michael Wells are among 21 players in line for their club debut as Simon Cron begins his tenure with the club.

They are joined by Wallabies hooker Feleti Kaitu'u and former Chiefs flyer Chase Tiatia as they face the D-rocks on November 6 and 12.

Cron has taken the chance to blood a number of fresh faces, including Sevens star Max Burey and former Junior Wallabies centre Nick Chan

"Max Burey is a first-five/ fullback from the Northern Suburbs of Sydney. He is a very dedicated professional and played well against Perth Gold on the weekend.” Cron explained in a statement.

“Nick Chan is an extremely talented centre out of Randwick in Sydney. He has been involved in other professional programs before, and we are lucky enough to have him here in Perth. Nick could potentially play Super Rugby as well.

“Closer to the start of the season, we will have a greater understanding of what contracts and what positions are available, but we are planning to keep them involved with us long term.”

Cron has also rewarded several local products, with 2022 Premier Grade Hampshire winner Otunuka (Nuku) Pauta (Bayswater), Giovanni (Gio) Leituala (Cottesloe), and top point/try scorer Kainoa Gudgeon (Wests) elevated into the squad after strong performances for Perth Gold during a trial match against the Force.


U19s trio Ned Slack-Smith, Jhy Legg and Marley Pearse will also make the trip over to Japan after impressing during the ongoing National Championships.

“The first priority for Jhy, Marley and Ned was performing at the U19s tournament, and we feel they all have been performing really well in that space,” Cron added.

“Taking them over to Japan will progress their development and present them with an opportunity to play with and against men.

"They all have proven themselves at training and have been performing above expectations especially in the contact zone. I think it will be a great experience for them to come on tour.

“Gio and Nuku were standouts in Perth Gold game. They were outstanding in clubland this year, because of that we thought it was a great opportunity to bring them in and see how they performed.

“Kainoa was initially injured with an MCL knee injury, he has worked his way back and now and has proved fit to travel to Japan. He was top point scorer in club rugby, and we brought him in because of that. I watched all three boys prior to my arrival in Perth, I also spoke to most of the coaches around Perth on who they thought were standouts. These three men were frequent mentions and praised by most.”

Western Force Japan Tour Squad

* Denotes possible debut

Forwards

Angus Wagner

Patrick Tagg*

Charlie Hancock*

Bo Abra

Sifa Amone*

Feleti Kaitu'u

Jack Winchester

Marley Pearce*

Felix Kalapu*

Ryan McCauley

Luke Callan*

Charlie Connolly*

Nuku Pauta*

Jhy Legg*

Patrick Maka*

Ollie Callan

Ned Slack-Smith*

Michael Wells*

Papillon Sevele*

Backs

Ian Prior

Henry Robertson*

Isaac Fines-Leleiwasa

Max Burey*

Hamish Stewart*

Gio Lacetuala*

Nick Chan*

George Poolman*

Reece Tapine

Grason Makara

Jake Strachan

Kainoa Gudgeon*

Chase Tiatia*

[Tazzmania]

[andrewg]

Great mix of young playing talent - some of whom are obviously being given a pre-season trial.
Ian Prior is the only player >30yo.

Pretty good team made up of the many players with injury niggles or on the road to recovery left back in Perth, on break or yet to arrive in Perth.
(Lloyd, Robertson, Romano, Medrano, Fainga'a, Sankey, Pugh, Williams, Anstee, Koteka, Pasitoa, Hegarty, Kuenzle, Ala, Mataele x 2, Pulu)

[andrewg]

29 of 32 travelling man squad named for the first game.
The friendly match will have a rotational bench with unlimited subs.

[jargan83]

URAYASU DRocks 33 def Western Force 28

[maelkann]

URAYASU DRocks 33 def Western Force 28

So can you smell what D Rocks is cooking?

[Tazzmania]

Young talent step up in narrow pre-season match

From Rugby.com.au


Western Force went down narrowly 33-28 in the first of their two-game series against Japanese Rugby League One side Urayasu D-Rocks at Urayasu Park, 6 November 2022.

Head coach, Simon Cron named 29 of his 32-man travelling squad, using a rotational bench with unlimited substitutions.

They were not afraid to use some adventurous kicking and good handling as they blew-out cobwebs.

Fullback Kainoa Gudgeon crossed first with Gio Leituala, George Poolman and Otunuku Pautu, each grabbing a try. All converted.

A promising start for the Force with West Scarborough product, Gudgeon taking a well-timed intercept on the right wing minutes into the match. The Fullback ran near 50-meters, scoring just beside the posts. Converted by Jake Strachan (0-7).

The Forward pack was busy in the first half with a handful of heavy weight hits and scrum contests. 11-minutes in, the Force came under pressure and the D-Rocks capitalised off the rolling the momentum at scrum time.

Former Wallaby, Irael Folau won the race to touch down a grubber kick in the corner. Converted by Otere Black for the D-Rocks (7-7).

The Force, quick to seize on any D-Rocks mistakes, almost made them pay after another long-range breakout. But, they were ruled to have knocked-on before crossing the line.

The long-range breakout was not the sole property of the Force. Masahide Yanagawa pounced on an error to put Urayasu ahead after 30 minutes. Unconverted. (12-7)

They increased their lead to 19-7 in the dying seconds of the first half when Kanushi Hano was on the receiving end of a rolling maul. Converted by the D-Rocks.

As the game opened in the second half, Cron rolled the changes. A rapid pass by veteran Ian Prior to debutant Leituala, saw the home side on the backward step. Skilled footwork and impressive leg drives by the youngster overthrew two D-Rock defenders to seal the ball over the line. Strachan added the extras, closing the gap (19-14).

A line-out steal from Michael Wells provided an opening for Prior to gain ground with a lengthy kick. A punishing tackle from New Zealand born, United Stated recruit, Felix Kalapu couldn’t hold the home sides pace down. Hitting back with convincing maul attack, rolling over for their fourth. The D-Rocks converted, bringing the score to (26-14).

Angus Wagner and Sifa Amone made an impact on their rotation. Scrum time was their heartbeat, shifting the momentum Force’s way, gaining advantage after pushing through at the 50-minute mark.

Fortescue Academy Player, George Poolman was electric off a miraculous set play. Breaking through three opponents he was a class act, scoring between the posts. The conversion was successful and the Force trailed 26-21.

The Force bounced back shortly after. Issak Fines-Leleiwasa’s speed off the breakdown curated a precise try for Bayswater product Nuku Pautu. Hitting the lead after a successful conversion (26-28) for the first time since the opening minutes.

But the lead lasted just a few minutes before D-Rocks went over from close range for the winning score. Converted.

Western Force

Tries: Gudgeon, Leituala, Poolman, Pautu

Conversions: Strachan (4)

Penalties: Nil

[shasta]

Good news in email today. Saturday's match will stream live on YouTube. If this link is a dud check your member emails.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=krhX0w3UrgQ

[.X.]

Good news in email today. Saturday's match will stream live on YouTube. If this link is a dud check your member emails.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=krhX0w3UrgQ

Commentary in Japanese, apparently.

[GIGS20]

Commentary in Japanese, apparently.

I'll be providing my own commentary in poorly informed, biased, expletive laden english.I expect it to be better than any professional commentary in Australia in the last 5 years

[shasta]

Commentary in Japanese, apparently.

ありがとうございました


大丈夫

[The InnFORCEr]

[Tazzmania]

Team for tomorrow:

[Tazzmania]

Based on the starting team selections it would appear that Papillon Sevele, Kiano Gudgeon and Max Burey are being given a good chance to push for contracts.

An interesting name on the bench is Charlie Connolly who appears to be an Irish tight head prop. Played for Houston Saber Tigers in USA.

A lot of concentration appears to be on getting our tight five depth sorted. not a bad thing

Still concerned with 13, will have to watch Poolman and Chan with interest tomorrow.

[todd4]

One of the guys playing for D-Rocks looks like Israel Faloau