Teenager Angus Grover handed first Waratahs start in top-of-the-table Super Rugby AUS clash

Eighteen-year-old scrum-half Angus Grover will start for the NSW Waratahs for the first time when they face the unbeaten Western Force in a top-of-the-table Super Rugby AUS fixture on Sunday. The defending champions are chasing a home final, and a win would put significant distance between themselves and their only remaining unbeaten rivals.

Grover comes into the side in place of Teddy Wilson, who has been rested after a demanding Super Rugby Pacific campaign that was followed by helping Eastern Suburbs win the Shute Shield against Warringah last month. He will partner Max Burey in the halves — the man named 2025 Super Rugby AUS Player of the Tournament, who helped the Force reach the Grand Final almost a year ago and is now aiming for silverware with the Waratahs.

Grover is not the only debutant in the run-on side. Front-rower Brady Dawson and loose forwards Angus Scott-Young and Luke Reimer have also been named for their first starts of the competition, giving the Waratahs a notably fresh look despite the scale of the occasion.

Captain Eamon Doyle packs down alongside Wallabies lock Miles Amatosero in the second row, with Scott-Young at blindside, capped Wallaby Reimer at openside and Isaac Fonua at number eight. Tom Lambert and Ethan Dobbins complete the front row alongside Dawson.

Former Force utility George Poolman starts at inside centre with Otto Serfontein outside him. Freedom Vahaakolo and Latrell Smiler-Ah Kiong are named on the wings, while Super Rugby Pacific Rookie of the Year Sid Harvey retains his place at fullback.

Waratahs coach Lachlan McCaffrey was relaxed about handing Grover the opportunity. “Grover is learning under some pretty good nines here and gets an opportunity to start, with Teddy having a little bit of a rest this week,” he said.

McCaffrey also highlighted the squad depth his side has built across the competition. “In three weeks we’ve used 33 players,” he noted. “I came into Super Rugby AUS wanting to make sure that all the young players coming through and anyone in the programme gets an opportunity to play.”

The Waratahs head into the match on the back of last weekend’s victory over the Queensland Reds, and will be looking to maintain momentum as the competition moves towards its finals phase.