REACTION: Aussie legend demands Wallabies call-up for Force 'future star'... but is it too soon?

You’d be forgiven for not knowing too much about Reesjan Pasitoa – but that could all be about to change.

The 20-year old fly-half – whose current games list sits at two for the Western Force in Super Rugby Pacific after ten for the Brumbies across the previous two seasons – has impressed no less a judge than Australian rugby legend Tim Horan, with a stellar display in the Force’s 28-3 thumping of the hapless Melbourne Rebels.

Showing composure beyond his years, the number 10’s kicking game was a joy to watch, while his game awareness repeatedly helped the Force carve up the Rebels on attack.

So captivated was Horan by Pasitoa’s performance that he took to Twitter after the game, urging Wallabies selectors to take an early punt on the Perth-born prodigy.

“Reesjan Pasitoa has to be in the Wallabies squad in 2022. Early days I know, but he is a future star. At 20 years old…the time is right,” Horan declared, before backing up his thoughts on Stan Sport following the match.

“I know it’s early days, and he’s only 20 years of age, but I tell you what: I reckon you’ve got to put him in the Wallabies squad,” Horan said.

“I know it’s only two rounds in, but he’s 20 years of age, we’re short on 10s in Australian rugby in the future.

“Get him amongst the squad, take him on the end-of-season tour. I know it’s early days, only Round 2, but…”

Reesjan Pasitoa of the Force wins a high ball during the round two Super Rugby Pacific match between the Melbourne Rebels and the Force. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)

Fellow presenter and former rugby sevens star Allana Ferguson agreed, citing Pasitoa as part of the changing face of Australian rugby.

“He’s definitely the real deal, particularly in terms of the way that rugby is played in Australia at the moment,” Ferguson said.

“It’s very exciting to see him getting some time in the saddle. Just the way he sees the game, and even over these last two games you can see his confidence going up throughout.

“He had a couple of really nice touches and some short balls early on in that game, but then that second half, it opened up a little bit more for him.

“Just seeing him on the screen, with a big smile on his face, he’s enjoying his football, his coach backs him, and you can see that he’s got that natural talent that will only continue to go with the players outside him.”

However, former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika couldn’t have disagreed more, saying that not only is Horan’s enthusiasm for the Pasitoa part of ‘the continual problem’ in Australian rugby of promoting youngsters before their time, but that their backing of the new man is insulting to incumbent No.10 hopefuls Quade Cooper, James O’Connor and Noah Lolesio – the latter of whom is only 22 himself.

“This is the continual problem,” Cheika retorted.

“In all seriousness, forget about young Pasitoa, let’s have a think about Noah Lolesio, or Quade Cooper, or James O’Connor, or these guys who are in situ right now, and give them the confidence to play.

“This lad [Pasitoa] is good – he’s got time on the ball, he’s getting the ball on the run so he’s drawing defenders even before he has the ball, you can see he’s got that ability.

But let him really stamp his authority to become a top player in the Super Rugby, with the Western Force.

“Then inject him into the Wallabies as a player who will make a difference from the off, instead of making him go in there and maybe struggle for a bit, and come out and earn his stripes.

“We’ve got to let players get their business done in Super Rugby, and then they can hit the ground running in the gold colours and perform from day one, because in that arena, it’s excellence every minute.

“There’s no respite, you’ve got to be on every second you’re in the game.”

Pasitoa, for his part, was keen to deflect attention away from his performance.

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“I’m getting more comfortable out there on the field, and I’m quite lucky with who I’ve got around me to make my job a bit easier,” he told Stan Sport after the match.

“At the moment I just want to keep doing my job for the Force, and kind of focus on taking every week by itself. I guess if further honours come from that, I’ll be pretty keen to go.”

If Pasitoa’s performance was the highlight, then another ordinary effort from the Rebels was undoubtedly the low point of the evening.

Lacking spark and slammed by fans and pundits alike for an ultra-defensive style that at times seemed more desperate to stop points than score them, despite conceding an early deficit, captain Michael Wells was left lost for answers after the game.

“There’s no excuses, we need to be better all around,” Wells told Stan Sport in the aftermath.

“I think last week we came off and thought we probably beat ourselves. There were a lot of errors on our part, but the Force were classier than us today, and we need to take a pretty hard look at ourselves if we want to get better.”

Wells also acknowledged the need to have a competitive Rebels outfit in a Melbourne sporting market already dominated by the AFL and the Melbourne Storm, and urged fans to stick with them.

“There’s some pretty die-hard fans here in Melbourne, and when we’re fighting with other codes, we really need to repay the die-hard fans that are contributing so much to us,” Wells said.

“I’d probably say we’re sorry for that, and we’re trying to get better.”