Northern | US

A Joe Schmidt non-negotiable and 'friends for life': Angus Bell on Ireland opener

Northern Ireland , United Kingdom - 10 April 2026; Angus Bell of Ulster celebrates his side winning a penalty during the EPCR Challenge Cup quarter-final match between Ulster and La Rochelle at Affidea Stadium in Belfast. (Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
Comments
Comment

Returning prop Angus Bell is relishing the chance to lock horns with his former Ulster teammates as the Wallabies open their 2026 campaign with gruelling barometer Tests against three European scrummaging heavyweights.

ADVERTISEMENT

First up is Ireland in Sydney on Saturday week, with eight Ulstermen featuring in Andy Farrell’s 36-player touring squad.

Bell considers his ex-teammates new “friends for life” but insists the gloves will be off at a sold-out Allianz Stadium after coach Joe Schmidt issued his Wallabies squad non-negotiable instructions for the inaugural Nations Championship.

VIDEO

“Joe’s mentioned how we’ve got to win these games coming up. We’ve got to win against Ireland, we’ve got to win against France, and we’ve got to beat the Italians,” Bell said.

Schmidt’s urgency is for good reason after the Wallabies endured the first winless four-Test tour of Europe last November to complete a disappointing 2025 campaign.

With the countdown well and truly on to next year’s home World Cup, Bell already has his game face on following a most fulfilling six-month sabbatical in Belfast.

The NSW Waratahs anchor helped Ulster to last month’s European Challenge Cup final and believes he has returned to Australia a vastly more experienced prop.

ADVERTISEMENT

“It was just a really cool experience to be able to verse people that I wouldn’t have versed if I didn’t make that decision to go overseas,” said the 50-cap front-rower.

“As a 25-year-old, it was refreshing, something that I needed to do to experience something different and I feel like I’ve come back a better rugby player from doing it.

“So there’s definitely heaps of learnings and it’s going to be interesting going up against them. They’re top fellows. I couldn’t speak any higher of them.

“But obviously we’ve got a pretty hectic 18 months here, with the World Cup coming up, so my full concentration and everything is building towards that.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Related

Bell said he was chuffed to learn fellow loosehead James Slipper, Australia’s most-capped player with 151 Test appearances, had opted to come out of retirement for the Wallabies’ three July Tests – and maybe beyond.

“Slips was one of my mentors growing up. From when I was first in the squad at 19, he looked after me and taught me what I know,” Bell said.

“So to see Slips being called back in, it’s been awesome. If there’s ever troubles or we’re trying to fix something within the forward pack, we’ve always looked to Slips to help us around those issues.

“It was a big decision for him to come back in. It’s hard to spend time away from your family, especially at that age, but Slips is such an important part of this team and he’ll add so much value.

“That’s a great thing. Now we’ve just got to try and coerce him to stay till next year.”

RugbyPass App Download

News, stats, live rugby and more! Download the new RugbyPass app on the App Store (iOS) and Google Play (Android) now!


Whether you’re looking for somewhere to track upcoming fixtures, a place to watch live rugby or an app that shows you all of the latest news and analysis, the RugbyPass rugby app is perfect.

Get the RugbyPass App 📱

Follow the biggest matches with live scores, line-ups, news and analysis, all in the RugbyPass App.

Download Here
On Apple IOS, Android, and Tablet.
ADVERTISEMENT
Play Video
LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Long Reads

Comments on RugbyPass

Close Panel
Close Panel

Edition & Time Zone

{{current.name}}
Set time zone automatically
{{selectedTimezoneTitle}} (auto)
Choose a different time zone
Close Panel

Editions

Close Panel

Change Time Zone

Close
ADVERTISEMENT
Copied to clipboard

Share Article close