Beale is back as flyhalf deputy
KURTLEY Beale will be the designated deputy at No.10 for Australia after a lacklustre Super Rugby season cost Quade Cooper his spot in the Wallabies’ training squad for the coming Test campaign.
The international career of the 70-Test playmaker hangs in the balance after coach Michael Cheika continued to regenerate the Wallabies, naming 11 uncapped players in a 38-man group.
The Western Force were rewarded for a spirited season with nine players selected, including Curtis Rona. Cheika revealed he is thinking about moving Rona from centre back to the wing, where he was a dominant NRL tryscorer.
Among the other new faces were rookie props Jordan Uelese and Jermaine Ainsley, and Queensland rookies Campbell Magnay, Adam Korczyk and Izack Rodda.
A handful of old faces were named, with Pek Cowan and Tetera Faulkner in three years after their last Test footy.
Scott Higginbotham, Rob Horne and Toby Smith were cut despite game time in June.
Cheika admitted it had been a “difficult” call to axe Cooper.
“From a form perspective, yeah I don’t think his form has been brilliant,” Cheika said.
“I have had a long talk with him yesterday and … one of the big things is for him to look like he is enjoying his footy.
“Getting out there and really being a competitor for that 10 jersey. We have had a talk about the reasons why and obviously a lot of that is trying to get him back into a space where he can be that player, that’s going to get us around the park and do the stuff that we want him to do.”
Though he had bright cameos in June, Cooper’s Super Rugby stats have been down in 2017. Only two linebreaks in 12 starts shows a player not as confident at the line as in his peak in 2011.
Cheika said there was also an element of seeing what Cooper’s “response” would be to his omission and there is hope yet for the Reds playmaker with no other fiveeighths included in the squad.
Beale is locked in as Bernard Foley’s backup but it’s also understood Reece Hodge is viewed as a future option.
With Sean McMahon returned, Higginbotham was dropped after failing to provide “impact”, Cheika said.
The first Bledisloe Cup clash is in Sydney on August 19.