Forever Strong

Forever Strong
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ryan Little
Produced by	Adam Abel Ryan Little Steven A. Lee Brian Peck Brad Pelo
Written by	David Pliler
Starring	Sean Faris Gary Cole Penn Badgley Arielle Kebbel Sean Astin Yolanda Wood Neal McDonough Julie Warner Olesya Rulin Larry Bagby
Music by	J Bateman, Bart Hendrickson, Pieter Schlosser, Clay Duncan
Cinematography	T.C. Christensen
Production company	Picture Rock Entertainment Go Films
Distributed by	Crane Movie Company (theatrical) Excel Entertainment Group (home video)
Release date	September 26, 2008
Running time	112 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Forever Strong is a sports film directed by Ryan Little and written by David Pliler and released on September 26, 2008. The film stars Sean Faris, Gary Cole, Neal McDonough, Sean Astin, Penn Badgley and Arielle Kebbel. The film is about a troubled rugby union player who must play against the team his father coaches at the national championships. Forever Strong is based on a compilation of individual true stories.

Rick Penning (Sean Faris) is a high school rugby player who is the captain of his team in which all of the players only improve via drugs and alcohol. After losing the championship to the Highland Rugby Team, who is also the team's rival, Rick drinks and drives, resulting in a crash that seriously injures his girlfriend, Tammy. Thus, he loses his position on the team and is sentenced to a boys' Juvenile Detention Center in Salt Lake City. Feeling bad for him, the center's manager, Marcus (Sean Astin) puts him on the Highland rugby team (much to his chagrin), coached by Larry Gelwix (Gary Cole). He suddenly becomes influenced by brotherhood and manages to cope with his homesickness and death of his first true friend, Kurt (Michael J. Pagan). Soon he finds himself again in the national championships—against his old team and former friends, coached by his own distanced father, Richard Penning.

The movie was filmed in Salt Lake City beginning in July 2006 at three local high schools. Sean Faris ran six miles twice a day to get in shape for the film. During filming, Faris sprained his ankle, but had the ankle taped, and continued filming. Several All-American rugby players, predominantly from the University of Utah and Brigham Young University, played in the film. Some Highland Rugby alumni and current players also played roles in the film.