'We're here to dominate them': Wallaby prop on England's set-piece
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Fresh-faced Wallabies prop Angus Bell has raised the bar for the second Test against England, declaring only domination of the visitors’ set-piece will do.
The 21-year-old started in the 30-28 win in Perth, where Australia played for more than a half with 14 men after Darcy Swain’s red card for headbutting.
Quade Cooper (calf), Tom Banks (arm) and Allan Alaalatoa (concussion) were also injured before and during the game, while fellow prop Taniela Tupou is a good chance of returning on Saturday at Suncorp Stadium.
Winning without them thanks to a three-try second half went against the script after eight consecutive losses to Eddie Jones’ side.
Bell couldn’t care less about that outside noise though, adamant they can improve again in Brisbane.
“Really don’t really think about it,” he said of those who had written off his side, and particularly the forward pack, pre-match.
“For me it’s about execution and I was pretty unhappy with our set-piece. It could be better.
“We’re not here to be even with England, we’re here to dominate them.
“We didn’t quite get that in the right area, the red card didn’t help but we’ll bring another step up in our set-piece [in Brisbane].”
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Tupou’s first child arrived ahead of schedule last week and coach Dave Rennie is confident the Queensland Red will recover from a calf injury to restock a depleted tighthead cupboard.
Bell can’t wait to see him in action.
“We all know Taniela’s a beast; one of the world’s best and in every single facet of the game Taniela has a massive impact,” he said.
“If he does get picked he’ll do a job.”
Meanwhile inside centre Samu Kerevi was on Tuesday named in Australia’s rugby sevens squad for this month’s Commonwealth Games.
Man of the match in Perth, he said he still had improvement in his kicking and passing game to match the powerful running game he unleashed in the second half in Perth.
“Was kind of seamless to be back in with the boys,” the Japan-based centre said.
He said preparation for the game helped them put out the fires calmly when injuries and red cards struck.
“We tried a lot of different combinations and the staff kept us on our toes [in the lead-up],” he said.
“It was nothing special [for Noah Lolesio to shift from the bench to No.10]; he knew exactly what he needed to do and it was another seamless transition.”
