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Foley clinches the game, and the No 10 jersey for Australia
First-choice: Australia's Bernard Foley scores his second try during the Rugby World Cup Pool A match between England and Australia at Twickenham stadium in London, Saturday
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First-choice: Australia's Bernard Foley scores his second try during the Rugby World Cup Pool A match between England and Australia at Twickenham stadium in London, Saturday. (AP/Christophe Ena) (AP/Christophe Ena)
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span class="inline inline-center">First-choice: Australia's Bernard Foley scores his second try during the Rugby World Cup Pool A match between England and Australia at Twickenham stadium in London, Saturday. (AP/Christophe Ena)
When Bernard Foley arrived in England for the World Cup, he wasn't even sure he'd be Australia's first-choice at No. 10.
There were critics who claimed that while Foley was a safe option at flyhalf and was reliable with the boot, he lacked the kind of imaginative attacking instinct that could win a team a World Cup.
After a standout performance and scoring all but five of Australia's points in a 33-13 win over England on Saturday to knock the host nation out of quarterfinal contention, it's fair to say he's earned his selection.
Coach Michael Cheika chopped and changed his starting lineups for the warmup tests ahead of the World Cup, giving Quade Cooper first shot in the No. 10 jersey to start the international season, and didn't settle on his halves pairing until late.
Foley said the intense competition for starting spots ' Cooper, Matt Toomua and Matt Giteau are in the squad and have all played at flyhalf for Australia ' had added new dimensions to his game.
He scored two tries ' throwing a dummy and going himself from close range in the 20th minute and combining with Kurtley Beale in a swift outside-inside passing exchange before diving over in the 35th ' and landed a perfect seven from seven shots at goal for a 28-point haul. He had 200 points from his 22 tests going into the Twickenham showdown.
"I was lucky to be on the end of some really good team structures," Foley said later, downplaying his role in the win. "To get that result is awesome."
While the points haul was impressive, it was Foley's composure in directing the attack and his work in defense that stood out most for Cheika. His deep, touch-finding kick put England under territorial pressure in the opening minutes, his high bomb for Israel Folau could easily have resulted in a try in the 7th, and his perfectly-placed grubber kick forced a knock-on from the England fullback and eventually led to Australia's opening try. He also shut down a dangerous England attacking raid with an attempted intercept in the 53rd that he knocked up for himself but couldn't regather.
"What we're asking of both Bernard and Quade is to take control of the game, especially in the tough moments," Cheika said. "The way he stood up to take responsibility, was prepared to guide the team around ... it's up to them to stand up and quarterback the team, and tonight he did that quite well."
It helps having a backs coach like Stephen Larkham, who switched from fullback to flyhalf before guiding Australia to the 1999 World Cup title, mentoring the group.
"It's been a work-on for me. Every game I want to be improving," Foley said. "We've got such quality flyhalves in the squad. The competition in every training session and the intensity the whole squad has applied on each other has put this team in a really good spot."
His tally fell a long way short of Mat Rogers' Australian record of 42 ' set in a blowout win over Namibia in the 2003 World Cup ' and Matt Burke's 39 against Canada in 2006, but the context of the situation made Foley's contribution more valuable.
When it was suggested to him that he could no longer fly under the radar at the World Cup after such a strong performance, Foley again deflected the assessment.
"For us to come out here and compete against such a quality England side with everything to play for at Twickenham, the home of rugby, it's just reward for the work we've put in as a squad," he said. "It's something we can take a lot of confidence from for next week."
Two-time champion Australia will play Wales next week, with the winner finishing atop Pool A and likely avoiding a quarterfinal against South Africa.
The fact that both teams have qualified for the knockout rounds will not reduce the intensity for either team.
"We knew this pool was going to be extremely hotly contested," Foley said. "We never talked about losing a game in the pools. Our focus is to win every game and build that momentum every week. We came out and showed our intent." (**)
