Kurtley Beale reflects on shock return to international rugby after five-year absence
He never gave up on his dream of making it back to the Wallabies, but Kurtley Beale admits he was still pinching himself on a solo flight to join Australia’s spring tour squad in London at the weekend.
Five years after he last played a Test match, Beale was last week a shock inclusion in the Wallabies’ squad as an 11th-hour replacement for Hunter Paisami.
With the rest of the Wallabies departing from Sydney, the 37-year-old was told to fly to England from his home town of Perth where he plays for the Western Force.
“I was still pinching myself on the flight over, to be fair, but really glad to be here,” Beale said on Tuesday at the Wallabies’ hotel in south-west London.
“[I feel] very honoured and it’s very humbling to be back in the Wallaby environment. It’s been a while now, but I’ve been working really hard. [I] just kept believing, to be able to get another opportunity, and obviously started that with the Force.
“The body’s feeling good. Physically and mentally, good to go. I’ve always kind of built myself in that way to be able to be ready, and if an opportunity came, I’m able to take it.”
There was ample opportunity for Beale to give up on making it back to the Wallabies. After joining the 2021 spring tour while based in Paris – and playing three Tests – Beale spent several years not playing, for long periods.
After electing to leave Racing Metro to return to the Waratahs in 2023, Beale didn’t play professionally for over two years, due to injury in 2022 and being stood down for 2023 after being charged with sexual assault. Beale was found not guilty at trial, and returned to rugby with the Force in 2024.
But just weeks after being named in Joe Schmidt’s first Wallabies squad in 2024, Beale ruptured an Achilles tendon playing club rugby, which sidelined him for another nine months.
Returning from an Achilles rupture is hard enough for a young athlete, let alone a player in their mid-30s. But despite admitting there were “tough days” on that comeback trail, Beale said he never felt his days of playing for the Wallabies were over.
“With my experience, and being in and around the Force and Super Rugby the last couple of years, I always thought I was able to still add to the group, to the game, and I just kept believing,” he said.
“I felt like there was some unfinished business, but I guess the focus was always on trying to make sure my body was right, my mind was in a good headspace. I had great support with my family, my wife, and two kids, so very blessed there.”
His call-up surprised many, but getting a call from Wallabies coach Les Kiss wasn’t a huge shock for Beale. He was selected for Australia A’s tour of the US last month and though he didn’t go due to visa issues, Beale was told to stay ready.
“[He is a] proven performer across the course of a 10, 15-year career, with a wealth of experience, a broad and consistent skill set, one which I think is tailored to the wide variety of positions he can play,” Wallabies assistant coach Jon Fisher said.
“And the truth is we were monitoring him and his performances very closely across the course of Super Rugby AU competition, and he performed exceptionally well. So, clearly this is the level he belongs at, and he deserves to be in this squad.”
Beale said he believed his role is to “create competition” and though he says the trio of No.10s in the squad – Ben Donaldson, Carter Gordon and Declan Meredith – have ample experience at Test level, he will be on hand to pass on any wisdom gleaned from his 95 caps for Australia.
“I genuinely feel really excited for the opportunity,” Beale said.
“For me to be able to compete and push the guys around me to a standard that’s high, and going to help us to be ready on the weekend, then I’ll be doing that. And I think if I do that, then if I do get an opportunity over here, then I feel like I’ll be ready.”
Bizarrely, Beale was also announced last week as having agreed to stay at the Force on a modestly paid “train and trial” contract. Beale laughed when asked if the Wallabies call-up would earn him a contract upgrade, before saying he was just pleased to be playing next year, and having a shot at making a fourth World Cup.
“It’s always been a motivation of mine,” he said. “I’m training and playing, and that’s all that matters to me.”
Iain Payten is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.