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'Fire in belly' as Kurtley Beale set for Super Rugby milestone / Photo: © AFP
'Fire in belly' as Kurtley Beale set for Super Rugby milestone
Kurtley Beale says he still has "fire in the belly" as the veteran Australian back readies to move past All Blacks great Aaron Smith and become the third most-capped Super Rugby player.
The 37-year-old is on the bench for Western Force's must-win clash with Fijian Drua on Saturday in Perth and will earn his 186th cap to overtake Smith should he take the field.
Only current ACT Brumbies prop James Slipper and retired New Zealand star Wyatt Crockett, who are in the 200-club, will sit above him in the pecking order.
"I feel great -- fresh in the mind," Beale said ahead of the game, adding that he could potentially play on for another campaign.
"I'm really enjoying my rugby. The passion and the love of it is still there. The fire is still in the belly."
The 90-Test Wallaby, who made his Super Rugby debut in 2007 with the NSW Waratahs, said surpassing Smith would be a "pretty special milestone".
"It's been a hell of a journey," Beale said. "It's a long time in the game, the game that I love."
He has been in red-hot form off the bench this season with the Force needing him at his best against Drua with their season hanging by a thread.
With two rounds remaining, they are six points adrift of the sixth-placed Queensland Reds, and seven behind the fifth-placed Brumbies.
The Force need to beat Drua and the Waratahs to have any hope of snaring a top-six play-off berth.
E.Dudek--GL
