A standout young gun for the Force during their Super Rugby AUS campaign, Australia’s new domestic competition capped off a huge year for Boston Fakafanua.
Having been part of Australia’s undefeated 2025 U20 Rugby Championship in South Africa and their World Rugby U20 Championship campaign in Italy, the talented centre has been rewarded with promotion to the WA side’s senior squad for the 2026 season.
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Now, the 20-year-old has his sights set on making his Super Rugby Pacific debut.
“I enjoyed it, it kept me busy,” Fakafanua told Rugby.com.au when asked about his huge 2025 season. “I got to travel a little bit.”
“The biggest jump [to the senior squad] is the routine. The scheduling side of it, how many days you're in, making sure you're taking care of your body so you're able to turn up and train every day is the biggest thing. The time spent on little details, refining small details, your game just grows… The boys and staff get around you as one of the younger fellas.
“Coming out of school, [you’ve] got a teenager's mindset towards it. Now you've got to be professional in terms of how you treat your body, so that when you're out in the paddock, you're able to perform to the best of your ability.”
A major part of Fakafanua’s development also came from extended time in Super Rugby AUS camps, where, despite an HIA, he got a first-hand experience working with Wallaby veteran Kurtley Beale and the Force’s backs coach, James Stannard.
“It was awesome for me to get that exposure to that level of rugby and that speed,” the Force centre said of the new domestic competition. “To get a feel of going out to the stadium at 7 pm, for example, getting into the routine of it, getting onto the paddock and having a run against some of these boys that have played Super Rugby. I'm just a new kid on the block in that sense. I enjoyed it heavily.
“He's [Beale] been huge for me, just in terms of being able to see the game through his perspective and work quite closely in terms of refining the intricate details of being a back. [He is] willing to help me as well, to evolve my game as a player.
“He’s definitely helped me make a huge jump in the short time that we've been able to work together.
“'Chucky' [Stannard] and I have a good relationship. He came in while I was still training at school and ran a couple of clinics, so I've known him for a while. The attacking side of the game, seeing the game through his sevens perspective, everything's an opportunity to be creative."
The collaborative atmosphere at the Force has helped Fakafanua find his feet early, with the players there all looking to make history as the club chases a maiden finals berth in Super Rugby.
The centre is keen to potentially run out alongside the current Wallabies at the Force when the season kicks off next year, but his focus towards daily improvement and earning that first cap is his next stepping stone.
“It's easy for a young fella to feel left out, but this is not the scenario at all. The boys are very inviting, and it's a very connected, shared locker room,” Fakafanua said of the Force environment. “That’s one of the most exciting things, and it makes rocking up to your job that much easier.
“There'd be a few [I’m keen to play with]. Obviously, I've played with a few during Super Rugby AUS, but the returning Wallabies are probably the most exciting…Dylan Pietsch, Carlo [Tizzano], those big dogs would be awesome to get a run with alongside.
“[Making a debut] is the end goal, but the process of trying to improve and develop myself as a player day by day, I think, is the best way. Taking that approach to try and improve daily, rather than being solely focused on the end goal.
"If you take care of the stepping stones, it will make that end goal much easier to accomplish.”
