‘Tough’ Wallabies squad member rewarded by Force after breakout season

Wallabies squad member Hamish Stewart has been rewarded by the Western Force for a breakout season in Super Rugby Pacific. Stewart was a mainstay in the Force’s midfield in 2024 and that’ll likely continue into next season with the utility re-signing with the club.

Stewart wore the No. 12 jumper in all 14 appearances for the Force last season. The 26-year-old, who used to play for the Queensland Reds before moving out west before the 2023 season, played 80 minutes in all but three of those matches as well.

Coach Simon Cron turned to Stewart time and time again, and the headgear-wearing talent repaid the faith by finishing the season equal fourth for tackles (180) across the competition and he also had a team-high 85 carries.

Wallabies selectors clearly liked what they saw from Stewart in Super Rugby Pacific with Joe Schmidt calling the Queenslander into the national setup for the first time. Stewart was named in Australia’s squad for the July series and later the upcoming Tests against the Springboks.

Stewart is yet to debut at Test level but he’s obviously not too far away. With the playmaker showing tremendous signs of improvement in the season just gone, Stewart was keen to seize the opportunity to re-sign with the Force.

“I’ve loved life in the west over the past two seasons playing alongside close friends for a club moving in a positive direction, so I’m thrilled to re-sign with the Force,” Stewart said in a statement.

“I’m also enthused by what the Force program and coaches can do for my development, given what I achieved personally in 2024 with my first Wallabies call-up.”

Stewart is the latest player to recommit to the Force. Earlier this week, Australia U20s prospect Divad Palu penned a deal with the Force for the 2025 season. The centre was previously with the Melbourne Rebels.

With others including Wallabies Brandon Paenga-Amosa and Darcy Swain committing to respective contracts out west, as well as the likes of Nic Dolly, Nick Campion de Crespigny and Harry Johnson-Holmes, there’s a reason to be optimistic about the direction of the club.

Head coach Simon Cron, who worked with Stewart at Australia U20s level some years ago, was upbeat about the club re-signing a player who’s coming off “one of the best seasons I’ve seen of Super Rugby.”

“Having Hamish re-sign shows he’s really investing in the Western Force and WA rugby,” Cron said.

“I think he had one of the best seasons I’ve seen of Super Rugby this year. He’s tough, he’s strong, works really hard.

“The boys love him. He’s the kind of guy that leads by doing. He does a lot for us as a team.

“Personally and for us, as a franchise, we were really happy to have him coming back.”

Stewart was one of six uncapped players included in the Wallabies’ squad for their upcoming Tests against two-time defending men’s Rugby World Cup champions the Springboks as part of The Rugby Championship.

Force flanker Carlo Tizzano is also in the mix to debut when the Australians take on South Africa at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on August 10 and then at Perth’s Optus Stadium on August 17.