Western Force head coach Simon Cron is excited about the impact of new recruit Kurtley Beale ahead of his Club debut, along with the returns of experienced pair Izack Rodda and Michael Wells.
Beale, who has 95 Wallabies caps to his name, joined the Force during the side’s mid-season bye and has been named to start at full-back in his debut against the Crusaders on Saturday, replacing the injured Harry Potter.
Rodda and Wells also both come into the side for Saturday’s game following quad and knee injuries respectively, starting as reserves.
On Beale, Cron told reporters: “What he brings is experience. Even yesterday, ‘hey KB, run this line’ and boom straight away. He also brings confidence to some of the boys in front of him.
“I know Donno (Ben Donaldson), Hamish Stewart, Chase Tiatia, these guys really benefit from having that voice behind them.
“That’s one of the things the boys said at the start of the week that they’re really liking. We love having him back.”
The addition of Rodda and Wells off the bench offers the Force plenty of experience and quality for the final 20-30 minutes which pleased Cron too.
“It is nice to bring guys on with a little bit more experience,” Cron said. “Previously we’ve been bringing guys into the game in the pressure moments who’ve only just started. That can be tough on them.
“Wellsy is that guy. He is a leader that can calm the ship a little bit. You can see that in the games he’s played so far. Rodds is going to go out there and do his job and focus on what he can do.”
Cron added captain Jeremy Williams “wasn’t quite ready yet” to return from a calf injury. Rodda has battled injury in recent times, so Cron was excited to see him back on the park.
“Naturally with him it’s been a long road,” Cron said. “It’s more about him feeling comfortable and confident.
“He’s come to me in the last couple of weeks going ‘I reckon I’m almost ready to go’. He comes off the bench. It gives him a chance to settle in and get into contact. He is by far our biggest body.”
The Force and Crusaders both sit at the foot of the table with 1-6 records, but the visitors are the back-to-back reigning Super Rugby Pacific champions, boasting plenty of experience and quality and a long list of All Blacks.
Cron said there’s no way they’d be taking them lightly despite their ladder position, although he added he believes they are “gettable”.
“Just look at their team list,” Cron said. “They’ve got a really good front row. Explosive outside backs, they’re very experienced.
“They’ve had a lot of player movement from last year to this year. Sometimes people forget that. There’s enough great players on that field. They’re a great squad.”
Cron added: “For us, I think every week every team is gettable. It’s more about how we’re going to perform against them and what we need to do to beat them.”
Kick-off is at the adjusted time of 5:40pm to allow for the pre-game Armed Forces ceremony to commemorate Anzac Day. Tickets are available via Ticketmaster.
