Western Force coach Dave Wessels is confident former NRL star Curtis Rona can handle a head to head battle with Wallabies ace Israel Folau in his Super Rugby debut.
Rona, who scored 40 tries during his 57-game NRL career with the Cowboys and Bulldogs, has been named at outside centre for the Force in Saturday's clash with the NSW Waratahs at Allianz Stadium.
Lining up directly against him will be Folau, widely recognised as one of the most explosive attacking players in world rugby.
Wessels is confident 24-year-old Rona will surprise many byhow well he copes with the challenge.
"Curtis is a big boy. He'll be fine," Wessels said of Rona, who stands at 194cm and weighs 102kg.
"You just can't believe a guy that big can run that fast and move that well.
"We've been very lucky with him, because although he's played a lot of rugby league, he's actually got a union background.
"He was part of our academy as a junior, so the game's not foreign to him.
"I wouldn't be playing Curtis at 13 if I didn't think he was comfortable there defensively."
Former Sydneysider Bill Meakes, who is also making his Super debut, will wear the No.12 jersey in an all new centre pairing for the Force.
All up, six Force players could make their Super Rugby debut.
And seasoned forward recruits Tatafu Polota-Nau (Waratahs) and Ben Daley (Queensland Reds) are also in the mix to play after being named on the bench.
The Force were dealt a huge double blow when new captain Ben McCalman (thumb) and former skipper Matt Hodgson (hamstring) were ruled out of the season opener.
McCalman is also expected to miss next week's home clash with the Reds.
Hooker Heath Tessmann will captain the side in the absence of McCalman.
The Waratahs were dealt a blow of their own when Wallabies five-eighth Bernard Foley was ruled out with concussion.
He has been replaced by Bryce Hegarty.
The Force are rated a $15 long shot to make the finals in some betting markets.
But that doesn't faze Wessels, who at 34 is the youngest coach in the competition.
"We don't get a huge amount of coverage for the stuff we do, particularly over in the east coast," Wessels said.
"We signed what is the biggest sponsorship in Australian rugby ever (a $1.5 million deal with the WA Road Safety Commission), and it's not reported in the east coast.
"I actually quite enjoy (flying under the radar). We're able to get away with our work here under the cover of night. We think we've done some good things over the last few months."
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