The return of former Wallaby Christian Lealiifano is one many are excited about, including Force playmakers Bayley Kuenzle and Reesjan Pasitoa, eager to face off against their old mentor.
Lealiifano was announced as the inaugural signing for Moana Pasifika ahead of their inclusion in Super Rugby Pacific.
He'll get a chance to immediately face his old side as they welcome the Brumbies to Mt Smart Stadium to kick off the season on February 18.
However, it's the round six matchup that Kuenzle is especially looking forward to, testing themselves against the legendary and inspirational flyhalf.
“It’ll be cool because when he was here last year on injury contract, it was nice to bump ideas off him at training and play with him to see where his game was at,” Kuenzle told Rugby.com.au
“It’s obviously going to be a weird situation being from the Brumbies and playing against him on different teams. It’s going to be a good opportunity.
“He’s been a big influencer on my career. He helped me coming through the Brumbies ranks. His leadership as a player, being a young player at the club he really took us under his wing and showed us the ropes on how to be a professional and a genuine bloke whilst living life.
“It was nice to be a part of his career, obviously what he’s been through he’s an inspiration for Rugby fans in general so it was awesome to have him to look up to. He’s been an inspiration for me early on in my career.”
As a young half signed straight out of high school, Pasitoa shared the sentiment, praising his influence on how he approaches the game both on and off the field.
"I learnt a lot from Christian (Lealiifano) about off-field stuff, how to prepare for training and the week itself,” he added.
“He ran through a weekly process and where I can fit in extras, making sure I’m recovering well and sleeping, nutrition and all that stuff.”
The new Force recruits have plenty of experienced faces within their own squad to "bump ideas off", including World Cup winner Richard Kahui and Kyle Godwin.
The opportunity to learn from a pair of Internationals has been crucial, especially for Kuenzle, who is looking to establish himself at inside centre once he completes rehab on a foot injury.
“With a couple of changes in the structure and not being able to be out there, you have to ask those questions to those boys so it’s been nice bumping off ideas, especially with players like Kyle (Godwin) and Richard (Kahui),” he said.
“It’s been really good to get their impressions of what they like to play with, their feelings of the game. It’s nice to have that resource to bump ideas off and hopefully improve from it.”
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