The Western Force have given their back-row stocks a big boost, signing Wallabies enforcer Isi Naisarani and former Waratahs flanker Carlo Tizzano.
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Naisarani burst onto the scene while playing for the Force in 2017, winning the Australian Super Rugby player-of-the-year award in his first season as a professional.
The 28-year-old went on to spend stints at the Brumbies (2018) and Rebels (2019-21), and more recently played for the Shizuoka Blue Revs in the Japan Rugby League One competition.
The Fiji-born forward featured for the Wallabies at the 2019 World Cup and has signed with the Force until the end of the Super Rugby Pacific season.
Naisarani will be able to cover both the lock and back-row positions at the Force and is excited to return to Perth after six years away.
"Coming back here is like going back in time," said Naisarani, who expects to be fully recovered from a recent knee injury in about two weeks.
"It feels like a lifetime ago I was living here in Perth, so I'm excited to be back here where I started my career.
"I've got lots to give back to the Force and Australia and am looking forward to being involved in the Super Rugby environment, playing good quality rugby again."
Tizzano got his first taste of the Force during Global Rapid Rugby in 2019, before spending the next three seasons at the Waratahs.
The 23-year-old feels he is now a far more mature player than when he was last at the Force.
"When I was a bit younger, I'm just flying around everywhere and hitting everything I can see," Tizzano said.
"That was four or five years ago. I'm a bit more experienced now, and I know when to pick my battles, and not just fly in head first to everything."
The Force have welcomed back captain Michael Wells, flyhalf Bryce Hegarty and winger Toni Pulu for Saturday night's crunch clash with the Highlanders in Perth.
Wells spent three weeks on the sidelines with an Achilles tendon injury, while Hegarty missed the past three matches with a back complaint.
Pulu returns after overcoming a knee injury, but English winger Zack Kibirige (hamstring) was ruled out.
The 11th-placed Force (2-5) are on a four-match losing streak - all away from home - but are looking forward to their return to HBF Park for the first time in more than a month.
Australian Associated Press
