Beale races the clock to get ready for Bledisloe I
Wallabies assistant coach Stephen Larkham says Kurtley Beale is ‘‘tracking nicely’’ as he recovers from his hamstring injury, but has revealed the star playmaker is not certain to line up against the All Blacks in the Bledisloe Cup opener.
Beale injured his hamstring in late May in what turned out to be his last game for Wasps.
Now back in Australia, Beale has resumed training with the Wallabies, but during camps in Newcastle and Cessnock, the 60-test veteran has had been on lighter duties compared to other team-mates.
There is every intention Beale will take the field at that ANZ Stadium on Saturday but Larkham hinted that he did not have the green light just yet.
‘‘Things are tracking nicely, but whether he’s right to go or not, we’ll have to wait and see next week,’’ Larkham told Fairfax Media. ‘‘He’s trained every day and he’s trained exceptionally well … but we haven’t made selections as a coaching group. You want to see how they [players] pull up over the weekend and how they come in on Monday.’’
By the time the Wallabies get their Rugby Championship campaign under way, it will be almost three months since Beale last played and given the standard of opposition, many believe him starting, most likely at insidecentre, is a risk. Larkham agreed to a certain extent.
‘‘There would be a risk with anyone coming back after that period of time and particularly if they didn’t train well,’’ Larkham said. ‘‘But KB has been one of our best trainers out there. He’s played with a number of these guys before and the combination out there on the field looks very natural for him.
‘‘If he was down on fitness or strength or confidence, there’d be concern, but he’s not showing any of that at the moment.’’
Bernard Foley is the only recognised No10 in the Wallabies squad, however Beale and Reece Hodge could fill a void if the NSW Waratahs playmaker were to come down with an injury at any point during the international season. ‘‘There’s enough coverage there,’’ said Larkham. ‘‘KB can play 10 and Hodgey can play 10, so there’s two back-up 10s there. Depending on selections, you’re looking at Bernard as our No1 five-eighth at this stage. Hodgey has been training in and out of 10. The combination is working well. Bernard is a very good organiser and he’s one of the vice-captains of the team now. Having the stability of him out there on the field is good for the confidence of the other boys.’’
Larkham knows what is required to triumph against world rugby’s powerhouse nation and believes the Wallabies will find the right balance between running rugby and territory.
‘‘We don’t want to be predictable to the opposition and we certainly want to be on the same page,’’ Larkham said. ‘‘It won’t be as simple as kicking everything out of our own half or running everything out of our own half. There will be balance.’’ The Sun-Herald take-no-prisoners style of play.
There’s also a belief the English international’s experience would be invaluable off the field as the Warriors attempt to build a winning culture.
It has become obvious that change is required at the Warriors. They continue to underperform despite having the Kiwis spine of Foran, Shaun Johnson, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Issac Luke. While injuries have prevented the quartet stringing many games together, it is no excuse for the Warriors’ position on the ladder.
Graham is on about $1 million next year and the Bulldogs would have to pay some of his freight to make him an attractive proposition to rival clubs.
Aside from releasing Sam Kasiano to Melbourne, they have been unable to offload any of their other stars on back-ended contracts.
The Warriors are also keen on James Maloney if he becomes a free agent. The Cronulla playmaker is also contracted for next year, but feels he isn’t being paid his market worth.
Maloney made his name at the Warriors, helping to steer the side to a grand final during his stint across the Tasman. However the Sharks won’t be letting him go unless a suitable replacement – Storm star Cooper Cronk is the signature they most crave – can be found.
With cash to splash, the Warriors are after Graham or Maloney as their marquee buy, as well as a couple of additional recruits to bolster their squad. The Sun-Herald