Aussies have the belief: Beale
It’s not all doom and gloom in Australian rugby. Certainly not from where Kurtley Beale is sitting.
You could be excused for feeling a little sorry for Beale, who only returned to the Australian game in the middle of this year after finishing a one-season stint with the Wasps club in England.
The Australian game was mired in turmoil around the Western Force’s axing from Super Rugby, with legal challenges, infighting wherever you looked and even the resignation of ARU boss Bill Pulver. It was unseemly, untimely and deeply unfortunate. But Beale, speaking to the
at the launch of the Brisbane Global Rugby Tens, which he will be playing in next February, could not be happier about his return home.
‘‘I’m loving being back,’’ he beamed. ‘‘After being away from home and away from the Wallaby group . . . I missed it. That was a deep burning feeling, and being away has made me appreciate being home a lot more.’’
Beale, one of the standout Wallabies in Dunedin, says he has worked hard not to get bogged down by the controversies raging around him.
‘‘It’s great to be playing rugby again, and my body is in a good shape after battling with injury last year. They’re all external influences and I try not to let them affect me, and make sure I’m just worried about doing my bit for the team.’’
To that end, Beale is happy to be part of the solution, if you like, via his performances for the Wallabies. Sydney wasn’t great; but Dunedin very nearly was.
‘‘We learned a lot about ourselves and where we are at,’’ he said of the dramatic SydneyDunedin turnaround. ‘‘There’s a lot of improvement still to do, but when you’re playing the All Blacks You’ve always got to believe. they do bring the best out in you.
‘‘There are a lot of things we can take out of that to keep building our game. The guys were ready to get better, and they were galvanised into putting in a big effort in that second test.’’
Next up for the Wallabies are the in-form Boks in Perth next Saturday night. Beale appreciates the Force controversy will make for an unusual backdrop, but says the players must focus solely on the on-field challenge.
‘‘It’s something we need to commit to,’’ added the 28-year-old 62-test veteran. ‘‘That second test has to be our benchmark now to measure ourselves on. It’s a matter of flicking that switch on now week-in, week-out.
‘‘We’ve got some big challenges ahead with the Boks and Argentina but we have to take up where we left off in Dunedin and grow in confidence and belief, so when it comes to [Bledisloe III] we can stick it to ’em.’’
That third Bledisloe (October 21 in Brisbane) looms as something special for Beale. Not only is it another shot at the All Blacks, but the first time the Wallabies will be wearing their indigenous jersey which he is rightly very proud of.
‘‘You’ve always got to believe, mate,’’ says Beale of the prospect of a rare victory over the All Blacks. ‘‘Once we start building that selfbelief, that we can match it with the best, we’ll give ourselves a good opportunity.’’ Marc Hinton travelled to the launch of the Brisbane Global Rugby Tens courtesy of Duco Events Australia.