Wallabies prop Angus Bell intent on improving his ‘standard’ against Argentina

Having finally made his return from injury, a Wallabies prop wants to take his game to the next level on Australia’s tour of Argentina.

A “bittersweet” Wallabies return has prop Angus Bell eager to take another step in his injury comeback on Australia’s two-Test tour of Argentina.

After finally recovering from an ongoing toe problem that required his foot to be reshaped, Bell made his first Test appearance of the year in the Wallabies’ 30-12 loss to South Africa in Perth last Saturday.

“It was just great to see all that hard work pay off,” Bell said on Friday before leaving for Argentina with the rest of the Wallabies squad.

“I was just tankful that I got through a full game, and was able to return against one of the better teams in the world, but it was a “bittersweet” moment because we came away with a loss. We’re just building as a team and ready for Argentina.

“There’s a lot to improve on, personally and as a collective. All weren’t happy with the game, and how we played, so we need to be better.

“You’ve got to hold yourself to a standard, and I probably wasn’t up to the standard that I should probably achieve.

“I definitely want to build on it and get back to where I was at the World Cup (last year).”

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Bell was pleased that fellow prop and soon-to-be NSW Waratahs teammate Taniela Tupou was making the trip to Argentina for two Rugby Championship matches after missing not of Australia’s recent losses to the Springboks following the death of his father.

“`Nella’ is doing a lot better since being back from (the funeral in) Tonga,” Bell said.

“It’s a tough thing to lose your dad, but I feel like Nella’s in a better headspace to contribute to the team.

“We all support Nella and everything he’s going through, but he’s well supported in our environment. We’re looking forward to having Nella back.”

The Wallabies take on Argentina on Sunday week (AEST) in La Plate and again the following weekend in Santa Fe.

“They’re a super flashy team and obviously great at the set-piece, so they marry both together really well, so we’re looking forward to the challenge,” said Bell, who added that the Wallabies were “building on habits” under coach Joe Schmidt, who has been in charge of Australia for five Tests.

“They’re the big ones. Habits are breaking over the past few weeks.

“We know we’re getting step-by-step better and there’s been a few instances where we haven’t been, but we think we’re trending in the right direction.

“We’ll keep trying as a team to get better and better every week.”