Bernard Foley must have solid game against Aaron Cruden if he’s to wear Wallabies No.10 jersey

BERNARD Foley faces the ultimate test of his Wallabies No.10 credentials this weekend when he lines up against Chiefs star Aaron Cruden.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MAY 23: Bernard Foley of the Waratahs makes a break during the round 15 Super Rugby match between the Rebels and the Waratahs at AAMI Park on May 23, 2014 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

BY the end of Saturday’s match against the Chiefs, Bernard Foley could have played himself into the Wallabies No. 10 jersey or been shown up by the man who wears the same digits for the All Blacks.

Foley’s showdown with master playmaker Aaron Cruden in New Plymouth is one of the most important of his career; an audition to start in the Wallabies’ first Test against France next week.

Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie named only two five-eighth options in his 32-man squad, Foley and teammate Kurtley Beale, and a dominant outing against Cruden should give the lesser experienced international a path to the starting side.

“Every week you want to test yourself against the best, challenge yourself to do better than the week before,” Foley told News Corp.

“Coming up against Aaron, who is the All Black incumbent, is a really good challenge.

“He is a very smart player, he’s got all the ability.

“His core skills and game management are phenomenal.

“He has been the form No. 10 of this competition for the last three years, so for us, we have to nullify him and their forward pack — who are tireless.

“It’s a new stadium in New Plymouth for us, and the Chiefs are always fun to play. They like to throw the ball around and try a few things, which is always exciting to see.”

Many were surprised to see only Foley and Beale nominated for the No. 10 national jersey when Matt Toomua — who starts at five-eighth for the Brumbies and played the opening two Bledisloe Tests of 2013 in that position — was considered the back-up to injured vice-captain Quade Cooper.

But Foley said Toomua’s performances at inside centre late last year for Australia made McKenzie’s decision to pick him purely as a centre logical.

“He did really well at the back end of last year in that position, and he really complemented the team really well,” Foley said.

“Ewen’s stuck with that and it probably shores up the team a bit.”

For NSW, this looming clash against the back-to-back defending champions in their backyard will be pivotal for their title aspirations.

“What a great challenge for us, coming up against the Chiefs, they are the yardstick, in the last couple of years they have been the benchmark,” Foley said.

“Now they’ve got Cruden back, they’ll be tough. The Kiwi teams always storm home at the business end of the season and to play them away will be a really big challenge.

“This will be the acid test for us to know where we’re at.

Aaron Cruden needs a big game himself to hold off a challenge from Beauden Barrett.

“Going into this June break, it’s a great opportunity for us to put in a good performance and get a good position on the table for the last couple of games.”

While the Waratahs lost their way in the middle stage of the season, their past month has been ominous; 16 tries in three games with maximum bonus points.

“There has always been belief there amongst the players, we always knew that if we get a bit of momentum and go-forward across the board that we’d be able to capitalise,” Foley said.

“We were a bit unlucky and started to push the pass there mid-season, when we had a bit of a lull and found it tough to score tries. But in saying that, it wasn’t from a lack of trying or changing anything.

“We stuck to our guns and we were unfortunate not to score those tries, but in the last couple of weeks we’ve showed that we want to play an attacking style of rugby and score tries, and we’ve been fortunate to score a number of them.”

Foley’s halves partnership with childhood friend Nick Phipps is also blossoming, and the former credits the latter for much of his success this season.

“Nick is an unbelievable player to play with, he is always giving 110 per cent, he gives his all every match,” Foley said.

“He does a lot of things that go unrewarded or people don’t see behind the scenes.

“The combinations throughout the backline and the directors of the team are building nicely.

“With the forwards getting the roll on, Nick’s able to showcase what he can do and put his hand up.”

Originally published as Bernard Foley must have solid game against Aaron Cruden if he’s to wear Wallabies No.10 jersey