Bernard Foley pushes limit to land 44-metre penalty goal that wins Super Rugby title for Waratahs

BERNARD Foley has praised Crusaders great Andrew Mehrtens for adding distance to his goalkicking, which aided his 44-metre matchwinner for the Tahs.

Waratahs Bernard Foley kicks the winning penalty goal during the Waratahs v Crusaders Super Rugby Final at ANZ Stadium, Sydney. Pic Brett Costello

GRAND final hero Bernard Foley has praised Crusaders great Andrew Mehrtens for adding distance to his goalkicking, which aided his 44-metre matchwinner against the Crusaders last night.

Mehrtens was hired a kicking consultant by the Tahs this year and that came back to haunt his former club, with Foley’s astounding penalty kick sealing the 33-32 victory in the final minute.

“Mehrts has been good this year, I’ve had a fair bit to do with Mehrts and we’ve sort of worked on putting a bit more length in the kick, and it proved a bit tonight,” Foley said.

It wasn’t just Mehrtens’ influence which was decisive, but also Foley’s dedication to his craft.

The NSW five-eighth was the last man to leave the field in their extended final training session on Friday, and has been relentless in practising his kicks for years.

Bernard Foley kicks the winning penalty goal for the Waratahs in the Super Rugby final.

When Richie McCaw was penalised just behind halfway as the clock wound down, Foley didn’t hesitate to walk to the ball for the kick despite his range normally being only 40 metres.

“It’s probably my maximum range, normally I let KB (Kurtley Beale) take the longer ones but I’d been hitting them well tonight and I thought it would be my responsibility,” Foley said.

“That’s why you kick goals, is to take that extra responsibility. To do it out here on this stage is something very special.

“The rugby gods were smiling, it just snuck over.

“It was just reward for what the team had done this year, we’ve fought very hard all year.

“To win like that is a dream come true.”

Waratahs stars Wycliff Palu, Bernard Foley and Kurtley Beale celebrate winning the Super Rugby final.

Foley said he was not overawed by the situation of winning a Super Rugby final with a kick.

“I was fine, I try not to get too carried away with those things,” he said.

“A few players came up and tried to say something, I tried to brush them off because you don’t want to get caught up in it.

“You want to go through your normal routine, your normal kick, and live with the consequences after.

“It was lucky it went over.

“(It is) surreal, definitely a dream come true, and a relief for the amount of work we’ve put in this year.

“You don’t deserve anything, but I thought we’d earned it. It’s a testament to the team for how hard they’ve worked for the last 18 months.

“And for the Waratahs, the amount of history, so much pride in this jersey and this club, to do it for them was very special.

“It’s in your wildest dreams to win a thing like this.”

Originally published as Bernard Foley pushes limit to land 44-metre penalty goal that wins Super Rugby title for Waratahs