Aussies hope to hit new heights
HE kicked a 50m goal from the sideline to beat the Springboks on the Wallabies’ last visit to Bloemfontein.
But Kurtley Beale won’t be putting his hand up for more long-range bombs when Australia returns to the same venue this week.
He doesn’t have to. Not when Reece Hodge is in the team, and is equipped with a cannon in his right boot that can kick goals from well over 60m in the thin air of the South African high veldt.
“Nah, mate. Hodgey’s your man,” Beale said. “I back him, he’s got a great boot on him.”
Last year, before the Wallabies’ Test in Pretoria, Hodge used the high altitude to send kicks over from “at least 60 on the angle” in training.
He had announced himself in Test rugby a month earlier by nailing a 55m penalty against the All Blacks.
But while Hodge may have the distance, Beale’s boot has the result on the board. And not just any result, but one of the Wallabies’ most famous.
When Beale kicked a postsiren penalty in 2010 from 47m out, but with extra length for being near the sideline, it secured the Wallabies’ first win on the high veldt in 47 years.
Now older and wiser, the Wallabies centre still treasures the memory.
“To win the (first) game up on the high veldt in 40 years, it was a pretty special moment for me and for the team, and it helped build momentum into that year,” Beale said. “And it turned out to be a pretty good year for us.”
The Wallabies needed to get a win last start when they downed the Pumas.
This week, to continue to breed self-belief, they need to secure victory on the road.
To do it in South Africa, and at high altitude once again, would be huge for the team’s confidence.
“Aiming for that consistency is pretty important to the way we want to build into the season,” Beale said.
The Wallabies squad flew to Johannesburg on Saturday, giving themselves seven days to acclimatise to the altitude ahead of the clash.
The team will move to Bloemfontein on Thursday.
The extended stay may be a small thing but it is all part of a plan to remove any potential physical or mental roadblocks that could stop the Wallabies from toppling the Boks again on the high veldt.
“Physically, that’s probably going to be a huge challenge for a lot of the guys,” Beale said.
“Making sure that we get our sleep patterns right so we can attack our training sessions really well, along with our nutrition.
“It’s important we tick all those little things off.
“Definitely by being over here as long as we can before the game, it’ll definitely help us attack the week the way we should.”