Kurtley Beale shouldn’t be lost to NSW and Australian rugby, says Waratahs captain Dave Dennis
WARATAHS captain Dave Dennis says Kurtley Beale is a valuable team man on and off the field and hopes he is not lost to NSW and Australian rugby next year.
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WARATAHS captain Dave Dennis says Kurtley Beale is a valuable team man on and off the field and hopes he is not lost to NSW and Australian rugby next year.
Speaking prior to the new text allegations made about Beale on Thursday, Dennis said the Waratahs may not have won their maiden Super Rugby title this season without their No. 12, and lauded Beale’s ability to deal with a difficult past and being thrust into professionalism as a teenager.
“People forget about where Kurtley has come from, and his background and his history. He hasn’t had it easy,” Dennis told The Daily Telegraph.
“For him to be able to deal with things he dealt with growing up as a kid, and then to come into a professional environment as an 18-year-old straight out of school … the way he has handled himself, I don’t know if I could have done that.
“He has always put the team first in the way he has played on the field, and also off it as well.”
Dennis said Beale had been the spine of a Waratahs side that shelved its usual conservatism and used a running rugby strategy to win a title.
“He very much became a cog in the back line,” Dennis said.
“Although we obviously had Izzy and Swoop (Adam Ashley-Cooper) and Fanga (Nick Phipps) and Nard (Bernard Foley) working together, KB was the central piece.
“He was a big part of the reason we won the championship. You look back at a couple of key moments, and he was fantastic. He did everything I asked of him, and that Cheik asked of him.
“I would love to have another year, if not another five years, with the guy.
“It’s pretty selfish from my point of view but I really want him to be around the club and to be there. I know how important he is as a player, and as a teammate off the field as well.”
Any adverse finding against Beale by the ARU’s disciplinary procedures could see the national body elect to withdraw their contract offer.
He could then potentially play just for the Waratahs on a much-reduced salary, as James O’Connor will do for Queensland next year, or elect to pursue league options or go to France, where he has already spoken to ex-teammates about the lifestyle.
Dennis said losing Beale would change the Waratahs entirely.
“You look at what our options would be. It would be probably be going back to a traditional sort of game, where a 12 just sort of carries. What we have had in the past, and it hasn’t worked for us,” Dennis said.
“No disrespect to the guys who’ve played before but that didn’t suit our best style, we needed that second ball player which we had in Kurtley. There are not many guys in the world who can do that.”