Kuenzle can’t wait to face Drua
Playing in Fiji is nothing new to exciting Western Force winger Bayley Kuenzle. Kuenzle said he always come to play age club rugby in Fiji. However, this is the first time for him to be playing at wing after playing at No.10 for most of the time.
So far, as a winger he has scored three tries in his past two Super Rugby games. “I’m delighted to have taken this opportunity (to play at wing),” Kuenzle said.
The 25-year-old took who normally plays at first-five eighth or at inside centre while with the Brumbies took his chance when Sam Spink suffered a calf injury.
“I’ve struggled to get into the starting team. I had a couple of injuries at the back-end of the pre-season,” Kuenzle said.
“I obviously didn’t get selected in the first couple of games but you’ve just got to take your opportunity.
“I’ve really enjoyed playing in those positions. I’m not used to playing at outside centre on wing, but you’ve just got to make use of it and take the opportunity when it comes. I’m glad I’ve done that.”
Kuenzle, who had previously represented Australia A, admitted he had limited experience in his newfound wing role.
“It’s the first time on the wing but the way we play, the winger roams a lot and
is allowed to get off his win. I asked questions to a couple of the boys on what to do. I felt quite comfortable out there to be honest, so it was quite fun.” Arriving in Fiji on Wednesday night, Kuenzle said the message from the coaches this week had been about improving defensively.
“Just focus on ourselves. Take the learnings from this week. We leaked 31 points which is not good enough. We just focused on that. Just focus on our process. Take each day as it comes and train hard. Not look forward too much. “Obviously we know they’re going to be tough games and we’ve got to be at our best. We’ve just got to focus on ourselves and do our role and we should be fine,” he said.
Kuenzle said he is looking forward to playing in Fiji again.
“It’s going to be a great experience. We know what they (Fijian Drua) bring and obviously the crowd is going to get around them. It’s going to be a great experience, we can’t wait,” he added.