The Western Force has named a strong 30-man squad for their upcoming tour of South Africa which also forms part of the Toyota Challenge in Bloemfontein.

The Perth-based Australian Super Rugby franchise will tackle the Toyota Cheetahs as well as Emerging Ireland in Bloemfontein next month, while they will also play against Western Province in Stellenbosch.

The Force have included the likes of the veteran Wallabies forward Sam Carter who is the vice-captain, while the speedy outside back Harry Potter will also be in action again.

Western Force against the Cheetahs in the 2023 Toyota Challenge. Photo: Morgan Piek

Last year the Cheetahs and Force faced each other in two home and away matches in the competition.

The acting Force head coach, Will Eggleston, said this is an important tour for them and they have a few objectives that they would like to achieve, such as try a few things for the Super Rugby and building more team unity.

“We are just looking to try a few things that maybe we either couldn’t in Super Rugby or we didn’t quite get to,” Eggleston told WesternForce.rugby.

“We’re going to go all in on those, and if they work, great. If they don’t, we know that we might not use that for Super Rugby 2025.

“The other thing is we want to get the group together. We’ve only been training for three weeks now, and so we want to build genuine relationships within the squad through enjoying each other’s company and playing well.”

The Cheetahs and Force will kick-off the tournament on 2 October at the Toyota Stadium.

Western Force touring squad:

Forwards: Albert Alcock, Sam Carter (vice-captain), Nick Champion de Crespigny, Nic Dolly, Lopeti Faifua, Will Harris, Harry Hoopert, Tom Horton, Titi Nofoagatotoa, Marley Pearce, Reed Prinsep (captain), Tom Robertson, Dane Sawers, Darcy Swain, Tiaan Tauakipulu, Josh Thompson, Silafono Titiuti

Backs: Max Burey, Issak Fines-Leleiwasa, Mac Grealy, Justin Landman, Ronan Leahy, Coby Miln, Divad Palu, Doug Philipson, George Poolman, Harry Potter, Isaac Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens, Henry Robertson (vice-captain), Patelesio Tomkinson

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek  dg