Vaiolini Ekuasi

Perth's Western Force have made a point of investing in home-grown forwards, and Vaiolini Ekuasi is part of that project. Born on 11 October 2001, the back-rower has worked his way into the franchise's wider Super Rugby Pacific squad after progressing through Western Australian club rugby and the Force's pre-season programmes. Ekuasi plays with a directness suited to a blindside or back-row utility role. He is comfortable taking short carries into traffic, an asset for a Force side that often needs forwards willing to bend defensive lines around the ruck, and he leans into contact rather than away from it. At the cleanout he works consistently to secure quick ball for his scrum-halves, the kind of unglamorous contribution that underpins a functioning pack. The franchise has rotated him through cover roles depending on selection demands, giving him a steady diet of senior involvement. With the Force publicly committed to building forward depth from within Western Australia, Ekuasi forms one strand of that broader plan. The next phase of his career is about translating his physical attributes into repeatable, low-error contributions that earn longer runs in the starting back row.