Former
Western Force players Jeremy Thrush, Jonno Lance and Chris Heiberg will head up
the Club’s coaching staff for the maiden Super Rugby Next Gen campaign which
starts on Saturday.

The Force
will compete in the new competition featuring rising stars from the four
Australian Super Rugby clubs which will run throughout February with all games
live streamed on rugby.com.au’s Youtube channel.

Scheduled
across three weekends in February, the fixtures will support the development of
the clubs’ emerging talent while feeding directly into the Australia U20
program.

Academy
boss Thrush will lead the side as head coach, with Lance and Heiberg taking up
the roles as his assistants. Chris Hallett will be the team manager.

While the
competition is predominantly focused on the U20 age group, to promote
competitiveness and broader player development goals, the Force and Brumbies
will also be permitted to field players over the age of 20.

The Force
will largely draw from the Club’s Academy, Super Rugby wider training squad and
the RugbyWA pathway.

The weekly
Force 23-player team will be confirmed on Thursday morning prior to each round.

The WA side
opens its season this Saturday away to the NSW Waratahs at Eric Twedale Stadium
in Parramatta, before home games in Rounds 2 and 3.

The Force will
host the ACT Brumbies in Round 2 as part of a double-header alongside the Force’s
Swyftx Super Rugby Pacific opener on Saturday 14 February. Next Gen kick-off
will be 2pm WST, with the Super Rugby Pacific game starting at 4:35pm WST.

In Round 3,
the Force-Reds’ Next Gen will be played at Wanneroo Rugby Club from 12pm WST,
ahead of the Force-Blues’ Super Rugby Pacific clash at Arena Joondalup’s HIF
Health Insurance Oval from 4:35pm WST.

Click here for more information

Western Force
coaching staff

Head coach:
Jeremy Thrush

Assistant coach: Jonno Lance, Chris Heiberg

Team manager: Chris Hallett

Fixtures

Saturday 7
February, 10:30am WST – NSW Waratahs vs Western Force – Eric Twedale Stadium,
Parramatta

Saturday 14
February, 2pm WST – Western Force vs ACT Brumbies – HBF Park, Perth
(double-header)

Saturday 21
February, 12pm WST – Western Force vs Queensland Reds – Wanneroo Rugby Club,
Kingsway

All games
live streamed on rugby.com.au’s YouTube channel