It’s not hyperbole - the Western Force have mastered the art of defensive lineouts better than other team.
According to Opta Stats, the Force steal 2.07 lineouts per game, the best among any side from the Top 14, English Premiership, Super Rugby Pacific, and the United Rugby Championship.
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The Force will lean on this success as they look to upset the British & Irish Lions on Saturday at Optus Stadium.
Their 2.07 record is 0.25 steals per game ahead of the next best professional side - French Top 14 semi-finalists Bayonne - and 0.5 steals ahead of their closest Super Rugby Pacific rivals, the Highlanders.
For comparison, Leinster (who have both locks Joe McCarthy and James Ryan on tour with the Lions) average 1.43 lineouts steals while Maro Itoje’s Saracens average just 1.11.
This defensive diligence has made the Force just that at lineout time - a force - while they continue to lead the Super Rugby Pacific standings for successful lineout wins on their own throw.
So what makes the Force such a threat?
Certified lineout pest Jeremy Williams (eight steals in 2025) was brought over from the NSW Waratahs and instantly thrust into the captaincy, learning all the tricks of the trade from former Wallaby Izack Rodda.
Rodda's departure left a hole that was filled perfectly by another Wallaby - Darcy Swain - who found himself stuck in a logjam at the Brumbies despite being one of Australia's top lineout operators.
Swain's shift west yielded instant results for the Force's defensive lineout - he made seven steals in addition to Williams' eight through 2025 - and the plot thickens with Will Harris' lineout evolution.
Harris (seven steals) is the most undervalued member of the Force's defensive pod, as seen against the Queensland Reds, where he combined with Swain for a total of seven steals (eight including Williams' solo snaffle).
The lineout is an area of rapid improvement for Harris since his joining in the West in 2024 - he recorded just eight receipts with the Waratahs in 2023 before more than tripling that (25 receipts) in his debut Force season.
He claimed a similar amount in 2025; however, suddenly his defensive output rocketed to to seven - one more than his previous best season (six steals in 2022) despite 400 minutes less game time.
An interesting point to note is the significant amount of steals also made by hooker Nic Dolly (five).
Dolly’s success in this area reflects the pressure applied by Williams, Swain and Harris on opposition throws, forcing overthrows or tap backs that hit the ground and provide Dolly with the chance to counter-punch.
From the Lions side, only Ollie Chessum (eight) is ahead or equal with the Force quartet for lineout steals with Scott Cummings (four) and James Ryan (three) the next best.
It's been 20 years since founding skipper and set-piece general Nathan Shape first led the Force before a Sea of Blue.
Today's forward pack still draw inspiration from Sharpe's lineout mastery and share that passion with forwards coach and ex-All Black Tom Donnelly, who has helped shape the West into the world's best.
Donnelly explained to rugby.com.au what it means to the club and explained why it is such a point of pride.
“We've got a really awesome group that I'm working with, some awesome lineout leaders that are really passionate about it,” Donnelly said.
“They put a lot of time and effort into it. Within our game, if you put time and effort into something, you generally get pretty good results.
“We're a pack that hasn't been together for that long. We deeply care about each other and how we play and we love working hard for each other.
“I suppose that's just showing out in a bit of our lineout defence.”
Force legend Matt Hodgson believes it typifies the fight and hunger built into the club, given its history.
“I think the Force’s DNA is a team that never gets up and gritting and I think we like to compete for everything and a lineout is a good opportunity,” Hodgson said.
“You see no better combination than Darcy Swain, Jeremy Williams and Will Harris all competing together. Every opportunity in the set-piece is an opportunity to compete and they love to compete so I think that's within the Force’s DNA is that we are a gritty team. We will compete for everything, no matter what the situation of the game.”
Veteran Sam Carter believes the competition within the squad, which includes the likes of Reed Prinsep and young guns Josh Thompson and Lopeti Faifua, allows the team to go to another level.
“I think it's the people we've got in the squad in the forward pack and it's obviously the way we train that's very competitive,” Carter noted.
“It's something we mark each other on each week, and it's something we're always looking to improve and get better at, so I think the competitiveness for sports and the way we train, the way we keep each other accountable, is why we've been so efficient in the set-piece this year.”
“We've got a really good balance of experience, so guys that have seen a lot…It makes for a pretty potent mix,” back-rower Reed Prinsep added.
“It's something we've prided ourselves on and we talked about at the start of the season, during pre-season as a full pack, wanting to be respected and that's certainly part of it.”
Donnelly coaching the likes of Williams and Swain is a meeting of the mega-powers, with the Kiwi coach soaking up every second they have together.
“We're pretty like-minded people and so we get on really well so we spend a lot of time looking at lineouts and discussing. We're sort of on the same wavelength,” Donnelly remarked.
“Darcy's a very, very good operator in terms of it's a real strength of his game, and luckily, he's been very enjoyable to work with.
"Now we've got a line out group where other guys want to be a part of and so we've got a really good group here that sits here and talks and discusses lineouts.
“We've got a really clear plan of what we're going to do. So he helps drive, and now we've got other guys that are driving and we're all on the same pace, so that helps massively.”
Swain echoed similar thoughts and praise for Donnelly when he faced the media earlier in the week.
“The work of Tom Donnelly and the collaboration we’ve done this year [has been great]. We start the week talking lineouts - attack and defence - and we just nut it out," Swain said.
“There's questions, we're arguing with each other ‘I think this’, ‘I think that’. It's really productive and I've loved being a part of that.
“I've grabbed ideas from ‘Sass’ [Donnelly], I've given ideas to Jez [Jeremy Williams] and he's given ideas to ‘Carts’ [Sam Carter]. It's been a real collaborative environment and I think that's why we've worked so well.
“The boys have just ripped in and bought into what we're trying to do and gone out and done it.”
Cohesion is an ongoing factor for the Lions, with just one game under their belt.
Argentina took advantage of the limited time, with four steals last Saturday.
The Force know the Lions will be better for the hit-out but will test their connection further on Saturday, even with Jeremy Williams watching on from camp Wallaby.
“Set-piece is a big part of these games, especially Northern Hemisphere Rugby when they pride themselves on,” Carter noted before the Argentina defeat.
“[It’s] something they'll want to obviously make a statement with, so we're going to have to be right on our game to nullify that and obviously use it to our advantage as well.”
Donnelly was hoping the Force would embrace the moment and could lean on their strength in their quest to cause an upset.
“It’s an awesome opportunity, we don't play at Optus [Stadium] very often, 50,000 people for a group that are pretty awesomely connected,” he said.
“[Just] a really special occasion for everyone, really, to enjoy it, enjoy the week, enjoy the atmosphere, enjoy the vibe that's going to be there out in town for it and then throw everything at them because you’ve got nothing to lose.”
