Western Force did pre-season differently to most Super Rugby clubs. They weeded for a week. Monday to Friday, dawn to dusk, players formed a chain gang around the embattled community of Wooroloo on the outskirts of Perth and cleared firebreaks to help prevent a repeat of the devastating 2021 bushfires which razed 86 homes in the town. After long days in the sun and the scrub, the players headed not to the pub, but to a full training session.
“I wanted them to grow as people,” Force coach Simon Cron says. “My idea was to get the boys on the tools, revisit ground zero, get perspective and remind them how many hours are in a day.”
