Super Rugby Pacific: Western Force coach Simon Cron backs Darby Lancaster to fight for Wallabies honours

Western Force coach Simon Cron cannot wait to see debutant winger Darby Lancaster in action after an injury-disrupted start to the season and tipped the new recruit to challenge for international honours. But Cron said another international outside back, Dylan Pietsch, will have a longer wait until he can get his season off the ground after he suffered a setback with his foot injury. One-cap Wallaby and former Australian sevens representative Lancaster will start for the Force against Moana Pasifika in Auckland on Friday as the visitors look to avoid a third winless game on the trot to start the season. A quad injury forced Lancaster to miss the first two games of the Super Rugby Pacific season, and Cron said there was no reason the speed demon could not add to his lone Wallabies cap, which came in 2024 against Georgia. “From the moment he came over to us and started training and working with the team, he’s been so excited, and I am ecstatic to get him back,” he said. “He’s got x-factor, he’s got speed, he’s a student of the game. We’ve really enjoyed him in our team, and you’ll notice on our edges, that it’d be great to get somebody who has the experience he has, so it’s awesome. “You haven’t seen the best of him yet. We’re hoping we can be part of his pathway back into the Wallabies, and he has all the talent and skill and drive to go a very long way.” On paper, the Force’s back three depth looked to be a strength ahead of the season with Lancaster on Pietsch on either wing — but the latter’s foot injury has bled into the start of the campaign. Now, it appears Pietsch, who sported crutches as he watched the Force’s round two defeat to the Blues in the crowd, could miss the next two weeks before their bye, leading into a home match against the Chiefs. “He’s aggravated the plantar fascia tendon in his foot, and he’s a power athlete,” Cron said. “We’re waiting to get him to the bye and see how he goes to that bye week around his prep, and see from there. “Ideally, he’s back by that stage. But it’s a case-by-case basis.” Cron resisted the temptation to shift former All Black George Bridge from outside centre to the wing role he played in for New Zealand, instead leaning on Bridge to build a midfield partnership with Hamish Stewart. “There’s a combination piece there, we had discussions this week around guys in certain positions, and the big point for us was not to change too much in the first three games,” Cron said. “The combinations are really important, and cohesion at the Force has always been a big one because of the turnover of players so we’re just trying to help give those guys their best crack at it, and then we will start making a couple of changes as we progress, just because we have guys in behind that we trust to do the job.”