Former Wallabies star Kurtley Beale insists he still has “fire in the belly” as he prepares to climb into third place on Super Rugby’s all-time appearance list.
The 37-year-old has been named on the bench for the Western Force ahead of Saturday’s must-win clash against the Fijian Drua in Perth.
Should he take the field, Beale will earn his 186th Super Rugby cap and move past former Aaron Smith on the all-time standings.
Only James Slipper and retired New Zealand great Wyatt Crockett will remain ahead of him.
“I feel great, fresh in the mind,” Beale said this week. “I’m really enjoying my rugby. The passion and the love of it is still there. The fire is still in the belly.”
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The 90-Test Wallaby made his Super Rugby debut for the Waratahs back in 2007 and admitted overtaking Smith would mark another special chapter in a remarkable career.
“It’s been a hell of a journey,” Beale said. “It’s a long time in the game, the game that I love.”
Beale has become a key weapon off the bench for the Force this season, and the Australian outfit will again lean heavily on his experience with their campaign hanging in the balance.
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With two rounds remaining in the regular season, the Force sit six points behind the sixth-placed Reds and seven adrift of the fifth-placed Brumbies.
Victory over the Drua is essential if they are to keep their fading playoff hopes alive before a final-round showdown against the Waratahs.
– AFP
Photo: Janelle St Pierre/Getty Images
