Beale heading for rugby’s unknown
KURTLEY Beale is confident Western Force fans will not turn on the Wallabies to vent their anger in Perth next week but cheer for a continued resurgence.
The midfield standout admitted yesterday he was uncertain what “external influences” the Wallabies would have to deal with ahead of Saturday week’s Test against South Africa.
The 62-Test back was in good spirits at Suncorp Stadium yesterday when ushering in the exciting revamp for the Brisbane Global Rugby Tens.
The tweaks enacted after fan feedback all shape as shrewd improvements for the festive lift-off to the season on February 9-10.
The switch to day-night games will combat the summer heat and the kick-off on a Friday night will amp up the party appeal.
Extra starpower has been added with the flamboyant Fijians and French club Pau replacing South Africa’s Bulls and French team Toulon for the 14-club event.
The large Kiwi appetite for the event has been catered for with the inclusion of Pau, home to All Blacks Conrad Smith, Tom Taylor, Frank Halai and Colin Slade plus former Wallabies captain Ben Mowen.
“You have the big roosters from the 15-a-side game and the speedsters from sevens ... bring them together and you’ve got a hurricane of excitement,” Tens ambassador Nick Cummins said.
Rachael Carroll, chief executive of organisers Duco Events, said All Blacks great Dan Carter and his French club Racing 92 expressed eagerness to get involved but sponsor commitments in the February slot ruled it out.
“Pau are a great fit because we have a contract commitment they send their strongest 10-a-side team and Conrad Smith, an All Blacks great, is top of that list,” Carroll said.
Beale missed the inaugural Tens event in February but said the upbeat reaction to the event had reached him in England where he was playing for Wasps.
He will be a part of the next event but his immediate focus is on tackling the Springboks with the same intensity the Wallabies uncorked against the All Blacks in Dunedin.
The outcome of a Western Force appeal to the Supreme Court on the legality of being chopped from Super Rugby could drop uneasily in Perth next week.
“I’m not sure (about crowd reaction at the Test) but hopefully we get a lot of strong support as we have over the years in Perth,” Beale said.
“Deep down, if you love your rugby, hopefully you’ll be enjoying a great game against the Boks and we are building on what we did last weekend against the All Blacks. Even though those results against the All Blacks still hurt, there’s definitely positivity to take forward.”
YOU HAVE THE BIG ROOSTERS FROM THE 15-ASIDE GAME AND THE SPEEDSTERS FROM SEVENS NICK CUMMINS