New contender for the next Wallabies captain emerges
Highly-rated prop Angus Bell has put his hand up to captain the wounded Wallabies after conceding Australia’s Rugby World Cup flop still haunts the playing group.
While Eddie Jones’ successor as coach remains undecided, Bell would “definitely” answer any SOS call to take the skipper’s armband after already being anointed by two-time World Cup-winning great Tim Horan as a future captain.
“I’ve always aspired to be a leader,” Bell said on Tuesday after returning to pre-season training with the NSW Waratahs.
“That’s completely up to the new head coach. I’ve got to make the Wallabies first and make the Waratahs first.
“Through actions on the field and whatever else happens, that decision is then made by the head coach (but) it was awesome to hear Timmy say that.
“He’s a legend of Australian rugby and has been highly successful also with the Wallabies.”
After initially appointing veterans Michael Hooper and James Slipper as co-leaders for the first Test of the winter, Jones ended up using six captains during his ill-fated 10-month second tenure as Wallabies coach. After then being overlooked for World Cup selection, Hooper has since retired from Test and Super Rugby to focus on sevens and hopefully next year’s Paris Olympics.
And while Slipper is Australia’s second-most-capped Wallaby ever behind only George Gregan with 134 Tests’ experience, the veteran front-rower turns 35 next year.
The incoming coach, whoever that may be, will likely look for a younger leader and clean slate ahead of Australia’s hosting of the British and Irish Lions in 2025 and the men’s World Cup in 2027.
Hooker Dave Porecki, who recently turned 31, is the incumbent captain after France-based World Cup skipper Will Skelton, also 31, was injured during the global showpiece in France.
Halfbacks Tate McDermott, 25, and Nic White, turning 34 next year, also skippered the Wallabies in 2023.
Regardless if Bell is next in line or not, the 23-year-old says it’s time for the Wallabies to draw a line in the sand and move forward, even if the ignominy of being the first Australian team to fail to progress out of the World Cup pool stages “still lingers”.
“The good thing is potentially there are opportunities there for Australian rugby to redeem a little bit of that respect back that we lost at the World Cup,” Bell said.
“In professional sport, you can’t hang on to things for too long, so we’re excited for next year.”
Bell and Waratahs and Wallabies teammate Lalakai Foketi did admit that it would be disappointing to see Jones defect to Japan, having initially committed to coaching the Wallabies for five years through to the next home World Cup.
“It would hurt a little bit just because all the chatter around all that kind of stuff before (the Wallabies’ tournament opener),” said Foketi, who conceded he needed time off afterward to mentally recover from the World Cup despair.
“You see people you haven’t seen for a while and they want to hear about it and talk about it and it was hard because not by fault or not by effort that we didn’t go as well as we wanted and it was poor World Cup from us.
“So, yeah, it lingers. It’s probably still lingering a little bit.”
Rugby Australia boss Phil Waugh says the governing body won’t rush into naming a replacement for Jones and Foketi doesn’t believe hiring a foreign coach or not makes any difference.
Comments on RugbyPass
Who listens to this retard? He was a massive liability as a player but obviously a media sensation
40 Go to commentsI’m not surprised by such ‘virtue signalling’ by Sonny Boy. Butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. He’s such a pious Islamic muppet, imo.
40 Go to commentsI’ve actually never heard of the guy (then I don’t watch League as it is boring). But if he is good enough.. then good luck to him. If not, well, he can always return to league.
2 Go to commentsIt is pretty clear that by almost any measure that NZ are a more successful rugby nation than South Africa. Quite aside from the distasteful events during the last RWC final. NZ lead SA in all significant measurements.
39 Go to commentsDickson went to his pocket for a card, saw who it was, changed his mind and spoke at length to TMO. One angle clearly shows Care diving over a Saints player to kill the ball. 1st yellow, reason given for not Red was player was falling backwards. He was only falling backwards after contact with Lawes. Graham try should have stood. Mitchell did not have both hands on the ball, ball went forward from a Saints boot dragging over it. 2 intentional knock-on's. One of which had an overlap on the outside. If Quins are happy to win by intentional foul play, then it does not say much for them. Would appear to be a bad day for Karl Dickson, also for the RFU in appointing a Ref who spent 8 years as a player at one of the clubs.
1 Go to commentsLet’s not forget about Ardie Savea just yet.
4 Go to commentsThe URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
1 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
4 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
4 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
4 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
4 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
40 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to comments