Western Force coach Simon Cron continues to scour the globe for talent, bringing in Maori All Blacks backrower Jacob Norris for their clash with the NSW Waratahs.
Norris joined the squad during the tour of New Zealand as injury cover with captain Michael Wells (Achilles) forced to leave early.
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It's the latest International injection into the squad, with scrumhalf Gareth Simpson captaining the side, although the backrower has Australian eligibility through his father.
"I'm always watching overseas," Cron told reporters.
"The key thing for us is we already have a young squad so we want to add value. We got a lot of guys in that New Zealand tour that got great experiences but we need to make sure we're bringing in guys with a little bit of experience around that as well.
"We always scouring for the right type of player and we feel Jacob will add. He's been with us for six weeks now so the door is open for him. We could see if we didn't add to the squad we could be light and sure enough we have."
Norris, brother of Chiefs prop Ollie, made his name for Tasman and Bay of Plenty in the NPC competition in New Zealand.
He was brought into the Maori squad for the two-Test series against Samoa in 2021, coming off the bench in a 35-10 win over Manu Samoa.
Cron was eager to bring the 24-year-old in with Rahboni Warren-Vosayaco ruled out with a tight groin.
“We’ve been tracking him for a while,” he said.
“One of the guys have coached him in the past so we knew he was an Australian sitting in New Zealand in terms of Australian qualified so it was just a case of tracking him.
“We brought him over just to add a squad number and see how he goes. He’s had previous Super Rugby pre-seasons that add training volume and age.”
Cron has also opted to key Jake Strachan at flyhalf after a promising performance off the bench against the Hurricanes.
Strachan helped engineer a late comeback that saw the Force nab a bonus point after the siren.
He scored a 79th-minute try before delivering a pin-point kick for Zach Kibirige as they flyer touched down well after the siren.
It allows Hamish Stewart to revert back to inside centre, partnering with impressive English import Sam Spink, whilst Bryce Hegarty continues to deal with a back complaint.
"Every game is an opportunity to win, so for me, this match is about learning from the key moments built on tour and using them as a positive endorsement," said Cron.
"Playing the Waratahs is always a great Australian battle; there's always going to be some fireworks. There's a lot of boys there that I have coached before who are good people so I'm looking forward to seeing them and going at them."
FORCE (1-15): Tom Robertson, Tom Horton, Santaigo Medrano, Jackson Pugh, Jeremy Williams, Tim Anstee, Ollie Callan, Jacob Norris, Gareth Simpson, Jake Strachan, Zach Kibirige, Hamish Stewart, Sam Spink, Manasa Mataele, Chase Tiatia
RESERVES: Feleti Kaitu’u, Angus Wagner, Siosifa Amone, Ryan McCauley, Felix Kalapu, Issak Fines-Leleiwasa, Bayley Kuenzle, George Poolman
Referee: Angus Gardner
Assistant Referees: Graham Cooper, Matt Kellahan
