Bernard Foley inspired by brother, Connor, the star running back of Australian gridiron team
AS Wallabies five-eighth Bernard Foley continues his dream of starring in the World Cup, he won’t have to look far for inspiration. Just across the family dinner table will do.
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WALLABIES five-eighth Bernard Foley is hoping to make his mark in a debut World Cup match in September and he won’t have to look far for inspiration.
Just across the family dinner table will do.
Foley’s brother Conor joined his younger sibling as an national representative last weekend when he played his first match for the Australian gridiron team at the American Football world championships in Ohio.
And what a first match.
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Conor Foley, a 27-year-old running back who grew up battling Bernard in backyard Test matches, helped the Aussie “Outback” smash South Korea 47-6 on Sunday by beating six defenders and scoring a sizzling 52-yard touchdown.
His 132-yard game was an Australian record and the second-highest ever in the tournament.
The first yard of a second Foley World Cup campaign in 2015 will be taken on Saturday when Bernard is expected to be named in the Wallabies’ squad to take on the Springboks.
If sibling rivalry is as strong in the Foley household as most, Conor’s effort spells good news for Australian rugby but the main emotion for Bernard this week has been pride.
“I think it is amazing, you know? For him to transfer what he has learned in his rugby and find his own niche and excel at American football, I’m obviously very proud.”
“He has done so well in such a short space of time. He only started playing about two years ago.
“Playing for your country at a World Cup is a pretty amazing thing, not many people get to do it, regardless of what sport you play.”
Conor Foley’s path to gridiron began on rugby fields, having grown up playing wing and centre for his school, and Gordon and Sydney Uni colts teams.
After battling through some injuries, he thought about a switch of codes.
“I was always a big NFL fan and watched it, and I knew there was a comp in Sydney and thought it might suit my skillset. I joined the Sydney University team, the Lions, and went from there,” Conor said.
“A few skills transfer from rugby, but the higher level you go, the more it changes. You definitely have to think more.”
At the same time Bernard was making his mark for NSW and the Wallabies, Conor’s rapid success in gridiron saw him move to Germany last year and play for the Dresden Monarchs in the booming German league and the European Big Six tournament.
“It’s big in Germany in particular, they have four or five divisions, it’s probably remnants from the American influence post-war,” Conor said.
“France has a big league, Sweden, Finland, Austria are very good. Switzerland, Ukraine, Poland. It’s pretty big.”
Pretty big sums up some of the athletes, too. Consider this: Will Skelton wouldn’t be the biggest bloke running around at the top clubs in Europe.
“There was a guy who I played against in Germany and I reckon he would have been 6 foot 7 or 6 8, a nose tackle so I am running right at him. He was maybe 170 kilos,” Foley said.
Speed and evasion are honed quickly in the company of monsters and Foley’s skills saw him quickly become a valuable starter for Australia.
Where once Bernard struggled to share with his brother what it felt like to play for Australia, now he doesn’t have to.
“To get that rush, to represent your country. So few people get to do it ... it is a remarkable feeling, so for Conor to be able to do that in a World Cup is pretty special,” Bernard said.
After winning their first game since 1999 with the South Korea result, the Outback’s world championship campaign came unstuck with a loss to France in the semi-finals.
They play Brazil early on Thursday to determine an opponent for a last match on Sunday morning, and their final placing.
A few hours beforehand, Bernard Foley will take up the national cause as well. Family duties.
Originally published as Bernard Foley inspired by brother, Connor, the star running back of Australian gridiron team