Refreshed Force aim to prove they're the real deal
Western Force coach Simon Cron insists his team won't rest on their laurels as they prepare for what shapes as a season-defining match against the Hurricanes on Saturday night.
The sixth-placed Force have never reached the finals in a full Super Rugby competition, but destiny is in their hands after going into their bye week with a 4-4 record.
The Force (20 points) emerged from their bye week refreshed and in sixth spot, and Saturday's match in Perth against the eighth-placed Hurricanes (16 points) looms as a fork-in-the-road moment.
After hosting the Hurricanes, the Force travel to New Zealand for games against the second-placed Chiefs and ninth-placed Blues.
They finish their campaign against the Brumbies (home), Fijian Drua (away) and Waratahs (home).
The Force have never been this well placed to make the finals, but Cron is fully aware it would have been even better had his team not let late leads slip on two occasions against the Reds this season.
"The boys won't accept mediocrity, they won't accept average," Cron told reporters on Friday.
"The point we've made in our team is that we should have been a little bit higher (on the ladder) had we executed in a couple of other games.
"The last thing they will do is accept where they are now."
The Force have lost Wallabies winger Dylan Pietsch (quad) for the next three to four weeks.
But Bayley Kuenzle will play his first game of the Super Rugby season after recovering from a long-term knee injury.
Kuenzle, the runner-up in the 2024 Nathan Sharpe medal, underwent surgery in July last year after injuring his posterior cruciate ligament and medial cruciate ligament playing club rugby.
The 26-year-old usually plays flyhalf or inside centre, but he's been named on the wing against the Hurricanes.
Nothin' but love for the home fans 😘Throwback to this CLUTCH 2022 try when the @westernforce stole the W away from visiting @Hurricanesrugby 😮💨Who gets bragging rights in Saturday's clash in Perth?#SuperRugbyPacific pic.twitter.com/6CrBnDDQyb
— Super Rugby Pacific (@SuperRugby) April 18, 2025
"He's really good at shutting down those outside channels, it's a real skill set," Cron said of naming Kuenzle on the wing.
"Defensively, from 13 and wing, you've got a lot of space to cover and Bayley has the speed and ability to do that.
"He's fast, he's powerful, and we love having him in the team.
"BK, from the moment he got injured until now, he's worked so hard to get himself back into a position to get selected."
Since thrashing the Waratahs 57-12 on March 28, the Hurricanes have suffered tight losses to the Blues (19-18) and Crusaders (31-24).
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