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The Waratahs’ season hit a major speed bump midway through the first half of their opening match of the season, but the Wallabies have received some welcome news with giant props Angus Bell, as well as Taniela Tupou, making positive strides from season-ending injuries.
The most exciting tight-five forward under 25 in the country lasted just 20 minutes against the Brumbies in Sydney on February 24. In a flash, the Waratahs’ Super Rugby hopes nosedived.
After re-injuring his foot for the third time in nine months, Bell will take a giant step on the road to September’s World Cup when he takes his moon boot off on Tuesday.
Having first injured his foot against England last July and, later, against the All Blacks at Eden Park, Bell decided to have a sesamoidectomy to ensure his foot troubles stop after his latest setback in February.
“I got a bone taken out instead of just re-attached this time. Without that bone there, it can’t pop off,” Bell told reporters on Wednesday.
“It’s a different surgery. In hindsight, I maybe could have got it the first time but that’s a bit radical.
“This time I’m just glad we did this sort of surgery and I can keep working on it to be as strong as it can be.”
Angus Bell was forced off in the first half of the Waratahs’ season opener against the ACT Brumbies at Allianz Stadium on February 24, 2023, in Sydney. Photo Mark Kolbe/Getty Images
Bell said he knew immediately he had hurt his foot again after winning a penalty at the scrum against the Brumbies.
“It’s a weird sensation when you feel a pop in your foot,” he said. “You know straight away. That’s why I walked straight off.
“When I’m running it’s 125 kilos running around the field, when I scrummaging it’s about 2000 kilos going through my foot and my foot joint. It feels almost 50 times as much as when I’d be cleaning out or running the ball or something like that.”
But despite stoically walking off, at no stage did he think his World Cup year had finished before it had started.
“I did it pretty early in the season, so I didn’t think that straightaway,” he said.
“It was more just the fact that I couldn’t play for the Waratahs. I love playing for the Tahs, I look forward to it every year. It’s my club, it’s my home, I love it and for my family not to be able to see me play in the Tahs, it was pretty upsetting.”
Angus Bell is on track to return in time for the Wallabies’ World Cup campaign after radical surgery. Photo: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
When Bell returns remains to be seen, but the 22-year-old, who earlier this year re-signed on a four-year deal with Rugby Australia, says he won’t rush back this time.
“Definitely before the World Cup,” Bell said. “I’ll be playing games before the World Cup.
“It all depends what Eddie [Jones] sees as the best opportunity for me to prove that I should be on that plane. Whether that’s club rugby for Sydney Uni or the warm-up game against France, or playing in Tonga for Australia A, I’m not sure what he thinks or what the medical staff are thinking.”
At this point, Bell will look to start packing down in the scrums by July.
It means he will be long odds to return in time for The Rugby Championship.
Not that Bell is concerned.
“Last time the progression probably wasn’t as long as it needed to be,” he said. “That’s on me because I pushed it.
“It was a different surgery, which involved some other things, so it’s all about the slow progression and building that strength in the foot.”
Angus Bell and Taniela Tupou are on track to make the Wallabies’ World Cup team. Photo Mark Kolbe/Getty Images
While Bell has been limited with what he can with his foot, the exciting front-rower has been by no means cruising.
Together with fellow-injured front-row star Tupou, the duo have been training under the watchful eye of Rugby Australia’s medical staff at their Moore Park headquarters and says they have been “ruined” by a series of activities involving medical balls, core, and watt and assault bikes.
“Me and ‘Nela’ struggle a bit,” he quipped.
“I’ve got really close with Nela over the past nine months,” Bell said.
“He’s one of my best mates.
“Nela and I are quite different in every aspect of life and that’s why we get along so well, opposites attract.
“Nela is very laissez-faire and I’m quite uptight, so we both meet in the middle.
“Training with him is unreal, you go hard with someone and go have a coffee with afterward; it’s great for the mental space and mixing up the training as well.
“It’s a great relationship. It’s funny, it’s always funny, but it’s good that we can both do things that will put us in the right stead for the World Cup and get hopefully on that plane both of us.”
Taniela Tupou is back to being himself, according to Angus Bell. Photo: Chris Hyde/Getty Images
As for Tupou’s progression from his Achilles injury?
“Taniela is Bulgarian squatting 170kgs on his Instagram, so I think he’s doing pretty well,” Bell said.
“He hasn’t lost his strength. Taniela is doing well. I think he’s running sometime soon, so after a big Achilles injury it’s a huge and a massive milestone, so he’s ticking all the boxes and still the Taniela we all know.
“It’ll be exciting to see him go up against the best of the world because we saw when we played France he destroyed their scrum, so it’s going to be interesting. When Nela is on song, he is the best in the world, so it’ll be cool to watch.”
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.