Rising rugby star Luke Burton will embark on his first Super Rugby tour when he links up with the Western Force for their two-game trip to South Africa.

Burton, a born and bred West Australian who can play either flyhalf or centre, has been included in the Force’s 26-man squad for games against the Cheetahs (Bloemfontein) and Stormers (Durban).

The flyhalf-centre is vice-captain of Australia’s Under-20 side, and was part of the outfit that defeated the Samoan Under-20 side on Wednesday.

“This also a great opportunity for Luke to be a part of the Force touring squad for the first time,” coach Michael Foley said.

“He has earnt his selection through the hard work he’s undertaken with the squad over the last 18 months.”

The Western Force sit in fourth spot on the table after posting six wins from their past seven games.

Wins over the struggling Cheetahs and Stormers would put the Force within touching distance of locking away a maiden finals berth.

“The Bulls provided some insight into the next block of games,” Foley said.

“However, while we can expect more mauling and clever strategic kicking, the Cheetahs will also play with a lot of width and the Stormers are noted for their defence.

Force squad: Phoenix Battye, Marcel Brache, Luke Burton, Nathan Charles, Adam Coleman, Angus Cottrell, Pek Cowan, Nick Cummins, Patrick Dellit, Sias Ebersohn, Tetera Faulkner, Kyle Godwin, Dane Haylett-Petty, Jayden Hayward, Matt Hodgson (c), Zack Holmes, Oliver Hoskins, Kieran Longbottom, Ben McCalman, Ian Prior, Brynard Stander, Wilhelm Steenkamp, Heath Tessmann, Chris Tuatara-Morrison, Justin Turner, Sam Wykes.