Milestone man Angus Bell has revealed he contemplated hanging up the boots as he endured the despair of a recurring toe injury that threatened to cruel the Wallabies prop’s career.
Bell will celebrate his 50th appearance for the NSW Waratahs in Friday night’s Super Rugby Pacific hosting of the Chiefs in Sydney.
But the 24-year-old on Tuesday candidly confessed to fearing he would have to walk away from the game before having foot reshaping surgery to address the chronic injury.
“I’m not going to sit here and say I wasn’t upset. I genuinely thought it was over,” Bell said.
“I thought I was going to probably retire last year. I didn’t really know if I would play in the front row again, which is pretty daunting.”
Bell, who called his rollercoaster ride since debuting for the Waratahs at 18 to almost quitting at 23 “an incredible journey”, first suffered the setback in 2021.
The first recurrence came in the opening round of 2023, forcing the front-rower out for half the season.
Once earmarked as a future Wallabies captain, Bell finally opted to go under the knife in March last year after again breaking down in the 2024 season opener.
Little wonder why he is savouring reaching a half-a-century of games for the Tahs – and hoping there’s many more to come.
“I’ve loved my time here at the Waratahs.I just want to keep enjoying it,” he said.
“It’s given me an opportunity to get better as a person and get better as a rugby player, and I’m forever grateful for that.
“But there’s been some times where I’ve doubted that I’d get to 50 or even be playing again, so it’s cool to hit 50. It’s pretty surreal.
“I never thought I would. You sit there as a young kid who’s debuting.”
While he fondly recalls debuting along with Mark Nawaqanitawase against the Crusaders in Nelson in 2019, Bell says surviving the dark times have been equally as memorable.
“I definitely appreciate it a lot more than I did as an 18-year-old,” said the Sydney-born Newington College product.
“I thought I was invincible and then you soon learn that rugby throws curveballs, life throws curveballs.
“So when you reflect on the lows of what happens in your career, then they’re probably the more memorable parts because you come back from them.
“Especially last year, I didn’t think I’d play for the Wallabies or even the (2023) World Cup year. I didn’t think I’d make the World Cup, so definitely there’s been a lot of hard work, a lot of tears.”
