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Western Force have some points to prove and scores to settle after Super Rugby ejection

(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Veteran Western Force rugby hooker Heath Tessmann has likened himself to a trusty FJ Cruiser as he gears up for the team’s assault against their Australian rivals.

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Tessmann thought his Super Rugby career was over in 2017 when the Force were booted out of the competition.

But he has the chance to renew rivalries against the Queensland Reds, Brumbies, NSW Waratahs and Melbourne Rebels in Australia’s new domestic competition.

At age 36, Tessmann knows he is at the tail end of his career.

But he says there is still plenty of fuel left in the tank, especially after making a full recovery from a plantar fascia injury.

“I didn’t get my first professional contract until I was 24, 25,” Tessmann said.

“It’s like finding an old FJ Cruiser in the garage and it’s only got 10,000 kms on it.

“It’s tough, it might be a bit old, but it still works pretty well – it’s still pretty handy.

“For me, I love playing. I still turn up here every day excited to go and compete. I want to win no matter what I’m doing.

“As far as injuries are concerned, I’ve got the body of a 28-year-old again.”

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Tessmann feared his Super Rugby career would end on just 10 games after being axed in 2012 by the Rebels.

But he flourished after signing an initial eight-week contract with the Force in 2013, notching another 63 Super games over five years before the franchise was axed.

Although the Force will lack the experience of their Australian rivals in the new domestic competition, Tessmann is confident they’ll be able to put up a big fight.

“We’re a competitive group. None of us go out there just to make up numbers,” Tessmann said.

“We’re not putting our hand up to be part of this competition to play a bit of rugby because we’re bored. We want to go out there and win games.”

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The Force kick off their campaign on July 11 against the Waratahs in Sydney.

– Justin Chadwick

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AM 38 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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