Talented but troubled high school rugby player Rick Penning (Sean Faris) loses his position as the star of an Arizona rugby union team when he is sentenced to a boys' Juvenile Detention Center in Salt Lake City. Rick ends up playing for Salt Lake's notable Highland rugby team, coached by Larry Gelwix (Gary Cole), in the national championships - against his old team, who is coached by his father, Richard Penning (Neal McDonough). Emily (Arielle Kebbel) is Rick's love interest, and Marcus (Sean Astin) is his guidance counselor.

The movie was filmed in Salt Lake City beginning in August 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.

Forever Strong is based on an amalgam of true stories about the Highland Rugby high school team. The character Rick Penning is based on a real member of the rugby team who played in Flagstaff, Arizona and was sent to a group home in Salt Lake City. The story attracted the production company Go Films. The film name "Forever Strong" is taken from the team motto of the Highland Rugby high school. "Forever Strong" was released in fall 2008 and distributed by Crane Movie Co.

Forever Strong contains use of the haka (traditional Maori dance and song) "Ka Mate". The iwi (tribal grouping) Ngati Toa chief Te Rauparaha is credited with composing this particular haka. The film contains a scene in which one player translates the lyrics of "Ka Mate" for his teammate.

As of October 10, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 29% of critics rated the film positively based on 14 reviews. Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 37 out of 100 based on 9 reviews — indicating generally negative reviews.