No rest, no worries for Foley

Wed, Feb 10, 2016, 8:30 PM
Beth Newman
by Beth Newman

Returning Waratahs flyhalf Bernard Foley might be coming off a full year of Rugby but he is not keen to sit any Super Rugby matches out this season.

Foley arrived back in Australia this week after his first stint in the Japanese Top League, off the back of a full Super Rugby and Test season in 2015.

Speaking at the announcement of BMW's new partnership with the Australian Rugby Union talent pathway, Foley was adamant he won’t be easing his way through the year.

“If I’m back here I want to be playing if I’m fit and ready to go I want to be in that jersey,” he said.

“I think that’s the exciting thing about the Waratahs is we’ve got great competition with KB (Kurtley Beale) playing in the 10 jersey and Bryce Hegarty there as well."

Foley said he felt as physically prepared as ever ahead of the Super Rugby season.

“I think it’s always a concern, going into the start of every season whether you’ve had enough preparation but for me I think I know my body quite well,” he said.

Bernard Foley in action for the Waratahs. Photo: Getty Images

As for the risk of mental exhaustion, Foley said moving through a variety of Rugby environments had kept him energised to this point.

“I suppose it’s the unknown for me I haven’t had to do it in the past.

“Maybe at some times I will be mentally drained but I think it’s going to be exciting for me to stay refreshed and going through different programs allows me to stay mentally refreshed.”

After a superb World Cup as the Wallabies playmaker, Foley will return to the Waratahs as one of its most experienced players.

Foley said his stint in Japan would certainly come in handy with the greater responsibility he might shoulder in 2016.

“I think that’s exactly where my game was able to develop in my communication with the guys around me,” he said.

“The experience that I had I was able to share with guys who haven’t played at that level or haven’t sort of experienced Rugby like that."

Foley has been a self-admitted “outsider” when it comes to the Waratahs new-look backline but is excited by the possibilities that are being explored.

”It’s exciting to see how much they’ll have to offer, having the likes of Israel (Folau) a bit closer to the ball, having KB at 15 where he excelled so well in the World Cup.”

While Beale is likely to don the 10 in this Friday’s trial against the Chiefs, Foley will be back in action for the final trial against the Highlanders - a match that is shaping as the first preview of a more permanent NSW structure with Folau also set to return.  

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