Bernard Foley

Bernard Foley has built a well-deserved reputation in rugby as a man for the big occasion. A fly half of high quality and consistency, Foley came through the Australia 7s programme before a move to the Waratahs launched his career in the fifteen-a-side format.

Born at Glenorie, in northwest Sydney, Foley’s dad, Michael, coached him for 10 years from the time he took up the game as a four-year-old. After he graduated from St Aloysius’ College, the alma mater of First Wallabies’ captain Herbert ‘Paddy’ Moran, Foley enrolled in an Economics degree at the University of Sydney and played rugby at Colts level from where he was picked up by the national 7s programme. The skills he developed during his time in 7s refined the way he played the game. Flat at the line, Foley, creates and exploits space, is confident in his handling, clever in his running lines and defends stoutly. He said, “It’s [7s] definitely been very beneficial for me. You need great skills in all facets of the game otherwise you get found out; so it was a really good learning experience for me and put me in good stead for where I am now.” Foley won a silver medal in 7s at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and was honoured with the captaincy in the second of his two seasons with the national squad.

He was recruited to the New South Wales Waratahs in 2011 and made his debut in the Super Rugby semi-final against the Blues. In 2013, Foley was chosen in the Rugby Championship squad and made his Test debut against the Pumas in Rosario. Foley’s ‘Iceman’ qualities came to the fore in 2014 when he slotted a final minute 45-metre penalty goal to win the Super 15 title for the Waratahs.

At the 2015 Rugby World Cup, Foley delivered another clutch match-winning penalty goal in the quarter-final against Scotland. Foley’s importance to Australian rugby was highlighted by the fact that from the opening pool match of the 2015 World Cup against Fiji through to the end of the 2018 season he missed just two of the Wallabies’ 49 Tests. Foley left Australia after RWC19 to link up with the Kubota Spears in Japan however much like his long-time rival Quade Cooper, he made an inspired 2022 return to Test rugby following Cooper’s Achilles injury.

Highlights

2009/10 Represented Australia in the IRB Sevens World Series.

2010 Selected in the Australian Men’s Sevens team which won a silver medal at the XIX Commonwealth Games in India.

2010/11 Captained Australia in the IRB Sevens World Series.

2013 Foley was chosen in the Rugby Championship squad and won his first Test cap when he replaced Quade Cooper at fly half in the 54-17 demolition of Argentina in Rosario. In the 79th minute of that match Foley became the 91st Australian to score a Test try on debut.

2014 Foley started in the run-on XV for the first time when chosen at No.10 for the 1st Test against France in Brisbane. He played in all 14 Tests, twelve as the starting fly half. In his 15th Test, against Wales in Cardiff, Foley became the twenty sixth Wallaby to score 100 Test match points.

2015 Foley played a starring role in Australia’s run to the Rugby World Cup final. He earned nine caps throughout the season and reached 200 Test points in the pool game against Fiji before he put the tournament hosts to the sword with an Australian record 28 individual points against England at Twickenham.

2016 Foley was selected in all 15 Test matches but started five as an inside centre after Matt Giteau broke his ankle in the 1st Test against New Zealand in Sydney. Foley passed the 300 Test match point mark against the All Blacks in Sydney and then reached 400 Test match points in the Irish international at Dublin.

2017 Foley started 13 of the year’s 14 Tests at fly half and only missed the Japan match in Yokohama following a late withdrawal due to illness. Foley won his 50th Test cap in the 27-27 draw against South Africa in Bloemfontein and in that same match became just the fourth Wallaby after Michael Lynagh, Matt Burke and Matt Giteau to score 500 Test match points.

2018 He was one of only three Wallabies (Izack Rodda and Dane Haylett-Petty) to play in all 13 Wallaby Tests. Eight of those 13 were won as the starting fly half however he finished the year as the incumbent inside centre after Matt To’omua was shifted to No.10 for the Spring tour internationals against Italy and then England. Foley surpassed 600 Test points with his 11-point haul at Twickenham.

2019 Foley played three of the Wallabies 10 Tests as Michael Cheika showed a preference for Christian Leali’ifano at flay-half. One of those three caps - against Wales in Tokyo - came at Foley’s second Rugby World Cup.

2022 Dave Rennie recalled Foley into a 35-man strong squad for the Rugby Championships after Quade Cooper’s season-ending Achilles rupture. Foley earned five caps, all at fly-half, including both Bledisloe Cup fixtures as well as the narrow away losses to the top ranked France and number two Ireland.