Wallabies' rising star keen to make up for lost time at Rugby World Cup

Wallabies front-row Angus Bell is looking forward to what he hopes will be a fruitful Rugby World Cup after his debut Test season in 2022 was derailed due to injury.

He has caught the eye with some outstanding performances this year and has already established himself as one of the game’s best loosehead props.

His rapid rise to the top has led to veteran front-row James Slipper, who was initially named as one of Wallabies head coach Eddie Jones’ co-captains, being shifted to the replacements bench.

Made his presence felt at Test level

Bell, who made his Test debut against the All Blacks in Brisbane in 2020, has made his presence felt despite Australia’s poor form ahead of the World Cup as they are still winless from five Tests played this year.

Despite his superb form, it wasn’t always so rosy for the 22-year-old whose promising career ha been hampered by injuries.

A foot injury wreaked havoc with his 2022 Test season while, earlier this year, he re-aggravated the injury and was forced off the field after just 20 minutes in the Waratahs’ Super Rugby Pacific opener against the Brumbies in Sydney.

“I didn’t think (I’d make World Cup), I thought it would be a longer injury,” Bell told Rugby Australia’s official website. “I did it three times. I thought the World Cup was touch and go or probably not going to be a thing that I could say that I went to but I took it day to day.

“Over that 12 months time that I only played two or three games, I just said to myself just try to get better every day, enjoy the process of it that was helped with ‘Nela and then whatever happens, happens.

“I’m just glad I’m here and be given the opportunity to get better and play games for Australia.”

Although he has had limited his game-time due to his injuries, Bell’s game has still come on in leaps and bounds.

Despite his short stay on the field in that game against the Brumbies, Bell made a big impact and caught the eye of Jones, who still kept him in the Wallabies squad throughout his recovery and named him on the replacements bench for Australia’s Test against Argentina in Sydney.

A brilliant cameo off the bench earned him a start for the first Bledisloe Cup Test in Melbourne, where he was arguably Australia’s best player with his superb ball-carrying ability.

This has always been one of Bell’s strengths but Wallabies forwards coach Neal Hatley was more impressed with his application to the game outside of this.

“I think everybody who’s watched ‘Belly’ knows he can carry the ball,” said Hatley. “For me, it’s the other bits that I’ve found really exciting about what he’s doing.

Excellent on defence

“I think it was his best defence against France. He made the most carries in our forward pack with 14 carries but he was good defensively, much better in the mauls and the drives.

“The areas that he’s been targeting, and he’s been really working his plums off, we’re starting to see real good transfer, which is great for him developing those other parts of the game like his scrum.

“For me, the most pleasing aspect is the work he’s doing off the ball. That’s what this team is going to need and it’s what the players in this team value, not just what you do for those brief moments on the ball, but how you add value throughout the game off the ball. I think that’s where he’s making his biggest strides.”