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New Western Force recruit aiming for Wallabies selection for first time in four years

(Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Prized Western Force recruit Kyle Godwin hopes his early move back to Australia can help reignite his Wallabies career.

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Godwin was touted as a future superstar during his first stint at the Force, but injuries continually dogged him at the most inopportune moments.

In 2013, Godwin missed the chance to earn selection on the Wallabies’ spring tour after undergoing a shoulder reconstruction.

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Force recruits Kyle Godwin and Greg Holmes

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Force recruits Kyle Godwin and Greg Holmes

A year later, a knee injury ruled Godwin out of contention for Australia’s 3-0 whitewash of France and the Rugby Championship.

Godwin eventually made his belated Wallabies debut in 2016 – in a 25-23 win over France – but he has been unable to add to that tally since then.

The 27-year-old has spent the past two years playing for Irish club Connacht and he planned to link up with the Waratahs for the 2021 Super Rugby season.

But his move to the Force for this year’s new domestic rugby competition in Australia means he is now eligible for an earlier-than-expected Wallabies recall.

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“My dream of playing for the Wallabies definitely hasn’t died for me,” said Godwin, who played for the Force between 2012-16.

“I think it’s at the back of every player’s mind in Australia to play for your country. It’s the pinnacle of your sport, so it will definitely be in the back of my mind.

“But my first focus is trying to nail a spot for the Western Force.”

Godwin still plans to move to the Waratahs next year.

But first he wants to help the Force buck the odds by making the finals of Australia’s new competition.

“We’re going out there to win it, just like any other team. I think we do have the cattle to do that,” Godwin said.

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“You can see the Force have been very successful in the NRC in the last few years. Hopefully we can bring some of that with us, and the flair of Global Rapid Rugby.

“It will be a step up from NRC and the boys are aware of that, but we’re looking forward to taking a few scalps and pushing our case to make the finals.”

Godwin is currently serving a 14-day isolation period in a Perth hotel, but he will be able to join his new Force teammates at training next week.

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AM 5 minutes ago
'Freelancer' Izaia Perese shows the need for true inclusivity in Australian rugby

That's Cron's job though. Australia has had one of the most penalised scrums in international rugby for a long time. Just look at the scrum win loss percentage and scrum penalties. That is your evidence. AA has been the starter during that period. Pretty simple analysis. That Australia has had a poor scrum for a long time is hardly news. If bell and thor are not on the field they are woeful. So you are just plain wrong. They have very little time for the lions so doing the same old things that dont work is not going to get them there.


Ainsley is better than our next best tighthead options and has been playing well at scrum time for Lyon in the most competitive comp in the world. Superstar player? No. But better than the next best options. So that is a good enough guide. The scrummaging in the Prem is pretty good too so there is Sio's proof. Same analysis for him. Certainly better in both cases than Super, where the brumbies had the worst win loss and scrum pen in Super. Who plays there? Ohh yes... And the level of scrummaging in Super is well below the URC, prem and France with the SA teams out.


Nongorr is truly woeful. He's 130kg and gets shoved about. That just should not be happening at that weight for a specialist prop who has always played rugby cf pone with leauge. He has had enough time to develop at 23. You'd be better off with Pone who is at least good around the field for the moment and sending Nongorr on exchange to France or England to see if they can improve him with better coaching as happened with Skelton and Meafou. He isn't going to develop in time in super if he has it at all.


Latu is a better scrummaging hooker than BPA and Nasser. and he's the best aussie player over the ball at ruck time. McReight's super jackling percentage hasnt converted to international level but latu consistently does it at heniken level, which is similar to test level in the big games. With good coaching at La Rochelle he's much improved though still has the odd shocker. He should start the November games.

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