Fresh from three tries in his past two games playing out of his normal position, Western Force utility Bayley Kuenzle says he’s delighted to have taken his opportunity.
The 25-year-old, who joined the Force in 2022 after 16 games for the Brumbies, wasn’t in the Force starting XV in Round 1 but took his chance when Sam Spink’s calf injury opened the door for him in Round 3 against his former side.
Typically a fly-half or inside-centre, Kuenzle impressed against the Brumbies at outside-centre and backed that up with a try in Round 4 against Moana Pasifika.
Spink’s return last round saw Kuenzle shuffle to right wing, with Harry Potter reverting full-back and Max Burey moved to the reserves.
And Cronulla-born Kuenzle took his chance, with a near best afield display including a double in the 40-31 win over the Queensland Reds.
“It’s putting in the hard yards in pre-season,” Kuenzle told reporters when asked what’s made the difference this campaign.
“I’ve struggled to get into the starting team. I had a couple of injuries at the back-end of the pre-season.
“I obviously didn’t get selected in the first couple of games but you’ve just got to take your opportunity.
“I’ve really enjoyed playing in those positions. I’m not used to playing outside centre or on the wing, but you’ve just got to make use of it and take the opportunity when it comes. I’m glad I’ve done that.”
Kuenzle, who has previously represented Australia A, admitted he had limited experience in his newfound wing role.
“It’s the first time on the wing but the way we play, the winger roams a lot and is allowed to get off his wing,” Kuenzle said. “I was quite used to that watching Chase (Tiatia).
“I asked questions to a couple of the boys on what to do. I felt quite comfortable out there to be honest, so it was quite fun.”
The Force headed to Sydney on Monday before flying out on Wednesday for Fiji where the side will take on the Drua from 9:05am WST on Saturday at Churchill Park in Lautoka.
The visitors will arrive in Fiji buoyed by their breakthrough win over the Reds, but Kuenzle said the message from the coaches this week had been about improving on that, particularly defensively.
“We’ve got a lot of learnings from the weekend as well, because we leaked 31 points but it was quite positive,” he said.
The Force are now on a two-game road trip away to the Drua, who are 2-0 at home, and then the in-form Auckland Blues.
Kuenzle added: “Just focus on ourselves. Take the learnings from this week. We leaked 31 points which is not good enough. We just focused on that.
“Just focus on our process. Take each day as it comes and train hard. Not look forward too much.
“Obviously we know they’re going to be tough games and we’ve got to be at our best. We’ve just got to focus on ourselves and do our role and we should be fine.”
Kuenzle said he’d played in Fiji previously at under-age level in club game but was excited for Saturday’s atmosphere in Lautoka.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” he said. “It’s going to be a great experience, we know what they bring.
“Obviously the crowd getting around them. It’s going to be a great experience, we can’t wait.”
Saturday’s game kicks off at 9:05am WST and is part of a double-header with the Buildcorp Super Rugby Women’s game between the Force and Drua commencing from 11:35am WST.
The game will be live on Stan Sport, while there will be regular updates @WesternForce on social media.
