Ben Donaldson replaces Kurtley Beale as Force gear up for Lions clash

Wallabies fly-half Ben Donaldson will make the long-haul trip from Australia’s east coast to the west on Thursday, called in to play for the Western Force against the British & Irish Lions after Kurtley Beale was ruled out with an injury.

Beale spoke with reporters on Tuesday about the significance of this weekend’s fixture at Perth’s Optus Stadium, as the 95-Test Wallaby was expected to play a key role for the Super Rugby Pacific outfit against the touring side.

Donaldson had been named in the Wallabies’ 36-man squad to face Fiji in Newcastle on July 6, and was set to miss out on the Lions clash with the Force due to commitments with the top squad in Sydney and Newcastle.

Jean-Luc Du Preez on return to Springboks and facing Shannon Frizell

Jean-Luc Du Preez on return to Springboks and facing Shannon Frizell

 

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When the Wallabies squad was announced, some of the Perth-based players had been told to stay out west rather than join the national squad right away – including Test bolter Nick Champion de Crespigny and veteran scrum-half Nic White.

Donaldson told media this week that there’s “a good share” of Wallabies who would be suiting up for the Force, following comments made by Lions chief executive Ben Calveley calling for Test stars to feature for their Super Rugby clubs.

While the Force have lost Beale, they’ve been boosted by the sudden inclusion of another Test playmaker. Donaldson was among the standouts for the Force during the 2025 season, and the fly-half is hopeful the Perth-based side can shock the Lions on Saturday evening.

“Yeah, they’ll win I reckon,” Donaldson quipped at a press conference on Wednesday.

“Nah it’s an awesome experience for them and a great challenge.

“You saw the Brumbies win 12 years ago so it’s not impossible. Everyone knows it’s going to be a great challenge for the group, a few boys who have only played a few games here might get a crack for the Force.

“They’re just working hard. I was back there the last two weeks training with them and they’re ripping in, they’re training really hard and they’re having a bit of fun at the same time. [Kurtley Beale] has spoken to the group about really enjoying the next couple of weeks, so has [Nic White], so has Sam Carter.

“They’re really excited and hopefully they get the win.”

Donaldson’s temporary return to clubland is the second Wallabies squad update in as many days, with the team announcing on Wednesday that Hunter Paisami and Matt Faessler have both been released to play for the Queensland Reds against the Lions.

Paisami and Faessler will both be available to play for the Reds, who host the Lions at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane next Wednesday. The Reds fell just short of a shock win over Wales last July, and they’ll be eager to put on another show next week in the rare fixture.

 

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“Last year we had a Wales match to head into, now we’ve got the British & Irish Lions which doesn’t get any better. Excitement is high, that’s for sure,” Reds coach Les Kiss recently explained.

“We’ll work through that over the next week in terms of selection and people are really, really excited in the place to see what’s in store for us.

“It’s special, without a doubt. Talking with the other coaches, the coaching team, or actually all the staff in our professional department, it’s a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity, without a doubt.

“When you look through the history of the Reds versus the British & Irish Lions, there’s probably been probably 130, 140 players only that have represented the jersey against the British & Irish Lions. It’s a unique and a special group of people who have the opportunity to do that as a player, but from a staffing perspective, and the management, we’re excited as well.

“It ranks up there as one of the great occasions.”