Former Maori All Blacks lock Tom Franklin has signed with the Western Force ahead of the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season.
Which team will finish as champions and which team will finish as wooden-spooners in the inaugural edition of Super Rugby Pacific?
Western Force coach Tim Sampson is ignoring the naysayers as the club attempts to gatecrash the finals for a second straight season.
The squads are out for the Super Rugby franchises as the attention of Southern Hemisphere fans turns to a new era in the competition. The new competition sees the introduction of an eight-team finals series.
The five Australian Super Rugby Pacific franchises - the Brumbies, Reds, Rebels, Force and Waratahs - and the Fijian Drua have unveiled their squads for next season.
Marcus Smith capped an assured debut at fly-half with a try, with Sam Underhill, Ollie Lawrence, Jamie Blamire and Harry Randall also crossing.
The trio join Greg Holmes, Kyle Godwin, Ian Prior, Kieran Longbottom, Brynard Stander, and Marcel Brache as key players to have re-signed from last season.
Despite dispatching Canada with relative ease last weekend, coach Gary Gold has still made nine changes to his USA side to take on Samoa.
Seven MLR players have made the starting XV of the USA Eagles team that is set to Canada in the opening round of the Pacific Nations Cup.