The Western Force have signed Australian back-rower Nick Champion de Crespigny from French Top 14 club Castres Olympique ahead of the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season.
The Canberra-born 28-year-old has spent the past three years playing in France with Castres, making 56 appearances in both the Top 14 and European Rugby Champions Cup.
Champion de Crespigny started in the 2022 French Top 14 final which Castres lost 29-10 to Montpellier.
Prior to that Champion de Crespigny played for NSW Shute Shield outfit Sydney University (2015-2021), winning two titles alongside current Force players Harry Potter, Harry Johnson-Holmes and Tom Horton. He also played for NSW Country Eagles (2018-2019) in the National Rugby Championship.
Champion de Crespigny said he was delighted to return to Australia for his first taste of Super Rugby to join the Force, having been lured by head coach Simon Cron.
He said: “I’m excited about the move which presented after chats with Cronny. I didn’t get a taste of Super Rugby when I was younger in Australia so I cannot wait for the opportunity.
“It’s great timing for me and the Force, who I can see are building something great. I’ve plenty of close friends at the Force and I want to see how far I can go in Australia which is where you need to be playing in my mind.
“Living and playing in France, I’ve learned a lot about myself culturally but also learned a lot about my rugby, playing 10 months of the year against international quality players week-in week-out.
“Cronny saw an opportunity for me to bring a different profile to the Force’s back-row options with my physicality and aggression. I cannot wait to get into training with the group.”
Cron reiterated that Champion de Crespigny could bring plenty to the Force forward pack given his profile. He said: “We’re really happy to have Nick joining us at the Force.
“Nick will add a lot to our forward pack including aggression and contact zone dominance. With his height and skillset he has the ability to play at 6, 7 or 8 and we are looking forward to bringing him into our Spring Series and building cohesion with the his Super Rugby Pacific team mates.
“He compliments our current squad and has a real passion to become one of the best players in Australia.”
Champion de Crespigny will link up with the Force to join training from August 12.
Register your interest today in a 2025 Force Membership here.
Nick Champion de Crespigny
27/6/1996
191cm
Back-rower
Castres Olympique (2021-2024), 56 caps
NSW Country Eagles (2018-2019), 11 caps
Sydney University (2016-2021), 69 caps
