The term "dad strength" is often applied to a new father's perceived increase in physical capacity following the birth of their child.
In France, this phenomenon is known as "papa force" - a fitting moniker for the Western Force's prize recruit and father-of-two Brandon Paenga-Amosa.
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The man known as "BPA" has returned from France's Top 14 as one of Australia's premier hookers and attributes his form spike to added responsibility on the home front.
"I feel like I’ve gone to another level with my game since becoming a dad," Paenga-Amosa told rugby.com.au.
"Both my daughters were born in France – they're aged three and one - and their mum is amazing. She's the force at home and she allows me to express myself on the field.
"Naturally I'm a big overthinker and the parents out there can relate but when you have kids, you realise little things don’t matter as long as your kids are healthy and your partner is strong.
"Being a dad has helped me push through the cloudiness that can come into your head. I'm less worried about everything in my game and can focus on the little things, move onto the next job more quickly.
"It's taught me a lot about myself and it's something more to play for when I'm on the field."
Though the science behind "dad strength" is largely untested, Paenga-Amosa's form since taking his first steps towards fatherhood paints a compelling picture.
Fresh from his Super Rugby AU title with the Reds in 2021, the hooker found immediate success in France with Montpellier taking out the Top 14 crown the following season.
He's also picked up six more Test caps since re-signing with Rugby Australia midway through 2024 and is widely considered a frontrunner alongside Queensland's Matt Faessler to don gold against the British & Irish Lions.
"I was lucky to play with some amazing hookers in Montpellier and blessed to be a part of that Top 14 win. It was an amazing experience and it helped me improve ... but I was never going to stay in France for a long time," Paenga-Amosa told rugby.com.au.
"I was always eventually going to come back to Super so when Cronno (Force coach Simon Cron) gave me a call and said we want you to be a part of the Force, I was hectic keen.
"I always enjoyed playing in Perth, coming over to Perth so it didn't take much convincing.
"Since coming over, I've felt that big family culture and we're working hard for each other, you know, we want to be a part of something special.
"We've been big on driving standards and expectations at the Force this pre-season and iron sharpening iron so from the moment we're in the door at HQ, we're trusting each other to work and get better every day.
Off-season surgery threw a small spanner in Paenga-Amosa's return to Force training but the 20-Test hooker is confident of suiting up at full fitness come their Super Rugby Pacific season opener against Moana Pasifika this weekend.
"I'd actually been been out for about 7-8 weeks rehabbing with the docs, only really joined the boys the past few weeks.
"They had to take out a couple of screws in my ankle – I got hip dropped in 2023 and the screws were affecting my Achilles - so it's been tough going in the heat.
"The lungs were on fire early but I'm hanging in there, it's been a really good vibe and the boys are challenging each other ahead of Moana."
