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As Angus Bell comes to terms with yet another foot injury, past and present Wallabies believe the rising prop could make a successful switch to the back-row if necessary.
The 23-year-old Wallabies prop suffered his third foot injury in as many years last weekend against the Brumbies.
Fourteen months after departing midway through their season opener against the Brumbies, Bell was once again forced off after 17 minutes.
The anguish was written all over his face, as the Wallabies star, who had expressed his desire to lead the nation out from their biggest hole, forlornly trudged off GIO Stadium.
Although an exact timeframe regarding his return remains unclear, Waratahs sources say he will miss the rest of the Super Rugby season and is unlikely to be back in time for the Wallabies’ season opener against Wales on July 6.
The latest setback comes a year after Bell had a bone removed from his toe to resolve the issues.
“Without that bone being there, it can’t pop off,” Bell told reporters last April, as he made his way back from injury.
“Right now, when I do my exercises, it’s stronger than it was before.”
Angus Bell reacts after suffering yet another toe injury against the Brumbies. Photo: Stan Sport
Yet, Bell told his Waratahs teammates and coaches that he heard a “pop” in Canberra on Saturday night during his side’s 40-16 loss – the team’s fifth straight defeat.
Former Wallaby Stephen Hoiles on Monday said on Between Two Posts that it would have to be considered whether he’s best served switching to the back-row to alleviate some of the pressure going through his toe.
“I heard a bit of talk that they’ve got to go and look at how they fix this toe long term,” said Hoiles, who suffered his own share of injuries before returning under Michael Cheika to help win the Super Rugby title with the Waratahs in 2014.
“He puts a lot of pressure on the injury that he’s got when he’s scrummaging, so is there a thought process that he might not be able to continue to play prop?
“He’s good enough to play other positions.
“That’s something that’s going to need to be considered now.”
Hoiles’ former teammate Morgan Turinui replied: “Seriously?”
“I’m not speaking out of school here,” Hoiles said.
“This is the third time that he’s injured that same toe and he’s gone and had part of it removed second time around. It’s quite an unusual one.
“You haven’t had the best out of Angus Bell for two years.”
Angus Bell’s Super Rugby season is over. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
Bell is considered the best young loose-head prop in the country and started ahead of James Slipper on a number of occasions over the past 12 months.
While his scrummaging is improving, Bell is considered one of the best ball carriers in Australian rugby.
Bell’s teammate said the side was gutted to have lost him, with the Waratahs to have to get creative ahead of Friday’s home clash against the Crusaders after losing four of their seven contracted props.
“It’s tough for Gus,” Holloway said.
“He’s had a rough trot with that foot. He’s in seeing the specialist.
“He’s obviously a massive part of our team: scrum wise, ball-carry wise and personality wise. We feel for him.
“We’ve got a bit of a prop crisis at the moment.
“We’re going to have wrap the HJH’s [Harry Johnson-Holmes] and Hayden Thompson-Stringer’s in a bit of cotton wool because we’re lean there.”
Asked whether he could shift positions if necessary, Holloway backed Bell to be able to succeed wherever he plays.
“I know how much he loves scrums, so he’d probably be the first one to stick somewhere,” he said.
“You could put him on the wing, he runs faster than half our backs anyway.
“Scrumming doesn’t define how good he is as a rugby player.
“He’s super talented.
“If that was the worst case scenario, he’d be a world class back-rower.
“He could even jump into the second-row. He’d probably need to lose about 10 kilos, but he’s got the body shape for it.”
Harry Johnson-Holmes (R) and Hayden Thompson-Stringer will be called on to play big minutes against the Crusaders. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
After losing six of their opening seven matches, the Waratahs host the only side they’ve beaten this year when they welcome Rob Penney’s Crusaders to Sydney ten years after beating the kings of Super Rugby to claim their only title.
The Waratahs are expected to welcome a couple of members from Michael Cheika’s side to their captain’s run on Thursday and will host a ten-year reunion to celebrate their success at Friday’s match.
Cheika, who remains in France, won’t be in attendance The Roar understands, while several Japan-based former Waratahs, including Israel Folau, will likely catch up over the weekend.
“I think Jorgo [Max Jorgensen] was in kindergarten,” quipped Holloway, who was at the start of his journey with the Waratahs in 2014.
“People forget, two years before we won the championship, the Tahs had a really rough season in 2012 as well and a lot of those guys were a part of that.
“To be able to flip that within two years to win the comp is experience that a lot of us can relate to.”
Holloway, whose prowess at the defensive side of the lineout was on display against the Brumbies as he stole three lineouts, said the Waratahs had to respond.
“It’s our season,” he said.
“As much as it sucks and the hurt behind losing the amount of games that we have this early in the year, we can’t afford to dwell on it otherwise we’re not going to improve.
“We need to park it and get the lessons and look inward to get better, and we’ve done a good job of that this week.
“Losing so many games on the trot does eat away at you. There’s no getting away from it, but it’s something you’ve got to embrace and move forward.”
He added that the entire squad needed to take responsibility for the position they find themselves in midway through the season.
“We’re just missing that last 10 per cent in attack,” Holloway said.
“We’re making linebreaks but our own errors are killing us.
“Our lineout attack was pretty poor on the weekend, we had a lot of disrupted ball, which is on me as a caller, but our lineout defence was good. Skill errors all over the park. It’s tough, but they’re things you can fix pretty quickly.”
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.