His calmness was put to the ultimate test at the Rugby World Cup last weekend when he stepped forward to take a penalty that would decide the winner of Australia's quarter-final against Scotland.
Foley had already missed three of his five attempted conversions and given away a try with an ill-conceived kick that the Scots charged down.
But when it mattered most, he delivered, sending the ball sailing between the uprights and Australia through to Sunday's semi-final with Argentina.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
"That’s what my job is in the team is to kick those goals," he told reporters at the team's hotel in London.
"They’re not always going to go over but at the same time you want to be able to be in a position to capitalise on opportunities for the team."
Foley's match-winning goal against the Scots was not the first time he has decided a game with a pressure kick. Last year, he booted a last-minute penalty to win the Super Rugby title for the New South Wales Waratahs.
Goal kicking has always played a big part in deciding big rugby matches and Foley's accuracy throughout this tournament has been pivotal in Australia getting to the last four.
The 26-year-old landed all seven shots at goal in the Wallabies' crucial pool win over England and made five of six in the group decider against Wales.
Foley's ability to kick clutch goals is the result of spending hours relentlessly honing his skills under the guidance of Australia's kicking coach Chris Malone, who puts as much emphasis on developing mental skills as well as physical.
Malone has convinced Foley to slow down his approach towards the kicks and during practice sessions, he gets other players to scream abuse him to replicate the noise and distractions during matches.
Malone's calming influence on Foley was critical in the match against the Scots. Foley missed all three shots at goal in the first half so Malone briefly spoke with him during the break. In the second half, Foley nailed every one of his attempts.
"One of the good things about Bernard is that he's never lacked confidence," Malone said.
"It was an easy fix, it wasn't anything major and he just had to concentrate on one thing. I was confident, as were the rest of the coaches, that we fixed that.
"He went out there and the first one in the second half was from the touchline, so it didn't get any easier. But he's a good goal-kicker."
(Reporting by Julian Linden. Editing by Patrick Johnston)
