Misinale Epenisa

At Western Force, the back row features Misinale Epenisa, a flanker born on 11 October 2001 who has worked his way into Super Rugby Pacific reckoning with the Perth-based franchise. The Force, the only Super Rugby Pacific side west of Adelaide, have in recent seasons rebuilt their pack around hard-working, mobile forwards — a style that fits Epenisa's profile. Flankers in Super Rugby Pacific are asked to cover ground at pace, commit cleanly to contact and hunt for turnovers against the speed of New Zealand and Fijian backlines. The Force's game plan depends on back-rowers who can execute that work ball after ball, across the full 80 minutes, often in the second half of long away trips. Epenisa's role sits in that bracket: relentless at the ruck, direct in defence, and useful as a ball-carrier in tight channels. Rugby in Western Australia remains a comparatively small ecosystem, and the Force's continued place in the expanded Super Rugby Pacific competition has given players like Epenisa a platform to establish themselves at senior professional level. As he moves through his mid-twenties, the challenge is one of consistency: stringing together complete performances, week after week, in a league where even mid-table opposition offers nothing easy to a back-rower who is not fully switched on.