Young front-row Angus Bell has thrown his hat into the ring to captain the under-performing Wallabies after admitting that Australia’s poor Rugby World Cup campaign is still still haunts the playing group.
Even though Bell, a 23-year-old Wallabies player, is one of the team’s younger players, Rugby Australia still needs to select a new head coach for Australia following Eddie Jones’ resignation last month.
Bell is a highly regarded player, and renowned Australian centre Tim Horan has already crowned Bell as the team’s future captain.
Keen on the leadership role
“I’ve always aspired to be a leader,” Bell told Rugby Australia’s official website on Tuesday. “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 amazing to hear Timmy mention it.
“He is a rugby legend in Australia and has achieved great success with the Wallabies as well.”
Prior to the 2023 international season, Jones named Michael Hooper and James Slipper, two seasoned players, as his captains. However, by the end of his tenure, Jones had used six captains.
After being left out of the Wallabies World Cup campaign, Hooper has shifted his attention to Sevens in the hopes of being selected for Australia’s Olympic team in Paris the following year.
Fellow veteran Slipper has made 134 appearances for Australia and is the country’s second-most-capped Wallaby but he is set to turn 35 in 2024.
Before the Wallabies play the British & Irish Lions in a three-Test series in 2025 and host the World Cup in 2027, their new coach will probably name a younger captain.
The other four Wallabies captains for 2023 are: scrum-halves Tate McDermott and Nic White, who also led the team earlier in the year, are 25 and 33 respectively; second-row Will Skelton, who was chosen to lead the team at the recent World Cup in France, and hooker Dave Porecki, who took over as captain when Skelton was injured at the global showpiece, are both 31.
Time to move on from World Cup woes
Bell believes it’s time for the team to move on following their lackluster performance at the World Cup in France, regardless of whether he is in the running for the leadership position or not.
The positive aspect, he said, is that Australian rugby may have a chance to make up for some of the respect it lost during the World Cup.
Since professional sports don’t allow for long-term planning, we are eager for the upcoming season.
