Western Force sign young outside back who scored two tries against Wales

Former Australian Schoolboys Rugby team member Mac Grealy has signed a two-year deal with the Western Force ahead of next year’s Super Rugby Pacific season. Grealy is a supremely talented outside back who also brings valuable experience with him out west.

After taking home the Queensland Reds’ U20s Player of the Year honour in 2020, Grealy went on to debut for the club the following season. The 22-year-old went on to play 26 Super Rugby games for Queensland, which included 11 starts during the campaign just gone.

Grealy carried for more than 800 metres and had a joint team-high breaks during the 2024 season, and backed that up with a strong performance against Warren Gatland’s Wales. Cymru were coming off back-to-back defeats to the Wallabies, and they nearly lost to the Reds.

Lining up on the left wing, Grealy scored a double after crossing for tries in the 59^th and 69^th minutes. Wales ended up scoring a match-winning try in the 78^th minute through Kieran Hardy as the visitors recorded a nerve-wracking 36-35 victory at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium.

More recently, Grealy was included in the Force’s squad for their trip to South Africa. Grealy impressed coaches on a train-and-trial deal, which saw the speedy outside back start all three matches and score one try.

“I’m really excited to be joining the Force for the next two seasons,” Grealy said in a statement.

“I really enjoyed getting to know all the players and staff over our time in Africa and can’t wait to build on those connections through pre-season.

“There’s been a great feel around the group and it’s something I’m grateful to be a part of while adding value where I can.”

Grealy is a product of Toowoomba’s Downlands College. The backline utility is the latest talent from the Darly Downs region to sign with the Western Force following Wallabies centre Hamish Stewart and front-rower Harry Hoopert.

This is an exciting bit of business for the Force as they continue to add quality to their roster ahead of next year’s campaign. Wallabies Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Dylan Pietsch, Harry Johnson-Holmes and Darcy Swain have all committed to the club.

Internationally capped hooker Nic Dolly, Josh Thompson, Vaiolini Ekuasi, Nick Champion de Crespigny, Sio Tomkinson and Matt Proctor have also signed with the Force. They’ll join the likes of Ben Donaldson and Nic White who are already at the club.

“Watching Mac play for a number of years we have always been impressed by his high work rate and ability to link in attack,” coach Simon Cron explained.

“His ability to play 15, or wing, is a huge asset to our team. You’ll see he has an enormous number of last passes for tries.

“His personality type fits in with the player group we have here. He is humble and hungry, and it is a credit to those who have worked with him in his rugby development.

“He’s been great since arriving in Perth. He’s highly motivated and has a lot of exciting rugby left at 22 years of age.”