Super Rugby Pacific: Western Force coach Simon Cron hopeful of Carlo Tizzano remaining amid reported interest

Western Force coach Simon Cron is hopeful man-in-demand Carlo Tizzano will accept an offer to stay at his hometown team amid reported interest from overseas. The Perth product’s star has continued to rise following last year’s ascension to the Wallabies, and the flanker is within reach of a league record ahead of the Force’s clash with Highlanders at HBF Park on Saturday. And with the tackling machine out of contract at season’s end, it appears Tizzano’s excellent performances have not escaped the attention of cashed-up suitors. The 25-year-old has reportedly been offered a “life-changing” deal by a Japanese team, but Cron said he was certain Tizzano, who leads the league for both tries scored and tackles made, would like to remain with the Force. “Carlo’s a great man, we love having him in our environment. He’s got a contract from us and Rugby Australia on the table, so I’m sure he’s just going through his process at the moment,” he said. “He likes being in our environment and we like having him, so those two things are the most important. “I’m 100 per cent sure he wants to stay, it’s just him working through it. He’s got a lovely partner and he comes from here, and they’ll work through that process.” An overseas move would also potentially rule Tizzano out of appearing at the 2027 Rugby World Cup on home soil given Rugby Australia’s preference for local players to represent the Wallabies with highly limited room for overseas options. Tizzano’s 10 tries — most of them finishing off rolling mauls — are the most ever by a Force player in a single season and only two off the Super Rugby record for a forward, despite the Force only being at the halfway point of their campaign. “I think the other boys are saying ‘stop making plays up for Carlo to score,’” Cron joked. “It’s team-first, it’s a team sport and I think he would be the first person to say that the tries come off the back of what the team do, and he’s the recipient of those, and he has to be in the right place at the right time to get them.” Tizzano has gone from strength to strength this season, having made a league-high 108 tackles from seven games, which included 34 without a miss in the Force’s historic away win over the Brumbies. He will be crucial to the Force’s hopes against the eighth-placed Highlanders — a game Cron labelled as “critical” with his side clinging to sixth spot entering their first bye round next weekend. “It’s a double pointer. When you’re competing against any of the teams, you either get the points or they do. You don’t want other teams getting it,” Cron said. “On that field, we play that game 10 seconds at a time. Focus on what we can do. That’s the most important thing. Byes are irrelevant to us at the moment until after the game. “They thrive off chaos, which is very Highlanders, meaning they love counter-attack; a lot of tries come from counter-attack. “They will quick throw, quick tap, and there’s a lot of key things in the Highlanders game that you do see around what the Highlanders have been in the past, and I think it’s been working in the contact zone. “The backs, they go, there’s some speed in those outside backs, some strength in the inside backs.”