SAS Australia viewers react to ‘brutal’ boxing match: ‘Hard to watch’

Just when viewers thought SAS Australia couldn’t get any tougher, a new series premiered on Monday night featuring ‘the most extreme course ever’.

Titled SAS Australia: Hell Week, the four-part TV special has swapped out celebrities for 14 everyday Australians to take on a brutal one-week version of the SAS Selection course.

Social media users couldn’t help but share their reactions online to episode one, which showcased the recruits being pitted against one another for a boxing match.

Youth worker Beck Mitchell, 33, volunteered to go up against 22-year-old surfer Mitch Fuller in the ring, which fans described as “harsh”.

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“My God I feel for her,” one person wrote, with another adding, “This is the only exercise that’s hard to watch.”

“This is brutal, I take my hat off to Beck,” a third shared, followed by, “She stood her ground and didn’t buckle over in tears, good on her."

Former contestant Mark Philippoussis was also impressed with Beck’s actions, commenting, “Wow tough!”.

While some fans online thought that the new season was “underwhelming” and they missed the celebrity aspect, others said they were “totally hooked”.

“This is by far the best SAS show there has been, absolute brilliant watch,” one viewer remarked.

“How good is Hell Week... Loving the intensity,” someone else shared, while a different user added, “I feel like the DS are a lot harder on the non-celebrities - and I love it!”.

"I think Ant and his team are brilliant,” another person said. “So refreshing to watch a reality show that is not about finding love or living happily ever after. This is real, the strongest survive.”

After two recruits decided to voluntarily withdraw from the course on day one, including fashion designer and domestic violence survivor Lena Kasparian and mineworker Kirsten Thomsen, the 12 Aussies still hoping to pass SAS selection are:

Bassim Yaghi, 32 - Bodybuilder

Beck Mitchell, 33 – Youth worker

Gary Fahey, 44 – Ex-Federal Police

Isabella Rositano, 25 – Rapper

James Carson, 30 – Holistic health coach

James Fenwick, 29 – Dancer

Kellie McDonald, 27 – Teacher

Lisa Trujillo, 27 – Influencer

Luke Stanton, 31 – Tradie

Mitch Fuller, 22 – Surfer

Sandy Scott, 35 – Stay-at-home mum

Sarah Jeavons, 25 – Dating coach

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