The impact of the Wallabies' loss to Italy last week has left an ugly reaction from fans and commentators alike, and Angus Bell intends to make it up to fans quickly.
With the side arriving in Dublin and pulling no punches in their Monday review, the Wallaby prop is excited to let his rugby do the talking against Ireland, where he’ll come up against his future teammates.
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Bell impressed for the Wallabies, scoring a try before limping off with an apparent shoulder injury, but the 48-capped player believes he’ll be good to go this weekend.
“It's just had a bit of a shoulder twinge, just a bit of nerve stuff which has settled down nicely,” Bell explained to reporters.
“So hopefully just get into training this week, work hard with the boys and the team, and hopefully put out a really good performance that we're proud of.”
The Wallabies cut forlorn figures following their shock loss to the Azzurri, the result all but quashing their hopes of a top-six finish.
Skipper Harry Wilson said post-match the side would be thinking about the match over the next few days, and Bell didn’t hide the disappointment, but that it has come with a hunger to make amends.
“I'd be lying if I said we weren't disappointed,” Bell said.
“Every time you pull on the jersey or the Wallaby jersey and represent your country and the people back home, it's incredibly special.
“We missed a lot of opportunities out there, but full credit goes to Italy, they took all their opportunities, they were hungry and hard on the ball, and they executed extremely well.
“No one in the group enjoyed that changing room after, and I guess that just fuels the hunger to go out there, stick to our systems and then build into a really good performance this weekend against Ireland.”
For Bell, while there is pressure in playing for the Wallabies, the prop added that the privilege of making it to international rugby is something that will also be driving him.
“In our position, the pressure that we do have is a privilege; if you're lucky enough to be playing a Test match for your country against any team, it's an incredible privilege, and that comes with the pressure as well,” he explained.
“The Irish, they're a great team, as you've seen earlier in the year when most of them were in the British and Irish Lions, they're great athletes and we know how dangerous they are with ball and without ball.
“I think for us it was just about taking our opportunities [against Italy], you guys would have seen it and we're not hiding from that, we lost a few opportunities in the A zone, attacking their ball and our execution wasn't quite right,
“We've obviously identified that and we just need to be better as a group, and that doesn't fall on any one player, that's a collective.
“What we're looking forward to is not so much pressure, it's exciting. We know the rugby that we can play, that's seen in previous performances, and that's what we're going to do this weekend, is piece that together and really be clinical on the ball.
“We know Joe's forgone a lot of family time to be with us, and we know how much it means to him to coach us.
“We're a really tight group, we all respect Joe so much as a coach and what he's done in the game. It's a motivator to put a result out there for not only Joe but the rest of the staff.”
