Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Former NRL star Zac Lomax will make his delayed Super Rugby Pacific debut on Saturday, but Western Force coach Simon Cron is bracing to be without try-scoring machine Darby Lancaster for the “medium term”.
Lomax, who was a late scratching from last week’s 42-19 win over the Queensland Reds due to hamstring tightness, has been cleared to play in Saturday’s clash with Fijian Drua in Fiji.
The 26-year-old will come off the bench for his professional rugby union debut, and Cron can’t wait to unleash his prized signing.
“Obviously last week on the Thursday, he tightened up, but he’s got through all the trainings this week and he’s looking good,” Cron said.
“He’s coming off the bench, so that (the amount he plays) will be dictated by the guys on the field and how things progress.
“He’s a big man, he’s powerful. Him and Creps (Nick Champion de Crespigny) have a muscle off most days.”
“He’s been constantly focused on what he needs to do to be his best, and then how to do that within the team environment and support and help the team. I can’t fault him.”
Lancaster has scored four tries in five games this season, but injured his ankle while scoring a try against the Reds last week.
“It’s gutting to lose Darby. He’s the legend of a man, and he’s been awesome for us,” Cron said.
“You can see from his line breaks and his skill set – even scoring that try where he was injured – he’s a pretty impressive human.
“The injury is still going through a bit of a process around scans and just looking at what the outlook is for him … he’s obviously out for a medium-term timeline, and then we’ve got to see how we best progress with him.”
In better news, Dylan Pietsch will play against the Drua despite still being bothered by a lingering foot injury that sidelined him for the early part of the season.
“It’s just a little bit of scar tissue,” Cron said.
Captain Jeremy Williams returns from concussion, but prop Tom Robertson is out with his own concussion.
With the Force still nine points adrift of sixth spot, Cron said it was crucial to back up last week’s shock win over the Reds with another victory.
