Kurtley Beale to leave Wasps and return to Australia to boost World Cup selection chances

STEADY lobbying from Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has paid off with Kurtley Beale announcing he will leave Wasps and return to Australia.

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​​KURTLEY Beale’s return home to play for NSW and the Wallabies has been celebrated as a significant win for Australian rugby, on and off the field.

Beale announced overnight he would be leaving English club Wasps at the end of the Aviva Premiership season to head back to Sydney to pursue a 2019 World Cup spot.

Having not received an official acceptance from Beale of their contract offer, the early morning news was a happy surprise to Australian officials and formalities were swiftly completed.

Beale has recommitted to the ARU and Waratahs through to end of the 2019 season, and will return after Wasps’ season finishes up in May.

Though he is likely to play for the Wallabies in the June Test series, it is yet to be determined if Beale will be available to make a late-season for the Waratahs in Super Rugby. He would almost certainly be ineligible for the Super Rugby finals given Wasps are leading the comp and will go deep in their finals.

Kurtley Beale will head back to Australia in a bid to boost his world cup chances.

The return of Beale is a major coup for Australian rugby - and particularly the Waratahs - given the 60-cap star was offered money similar to his current deal of a reported $1m-plus a year to stay at Wasps.

He could have stayed and played for the Wallabies as well, under the Giteau Law, but chose to return.

“It’s great to be heading back to Australian Rugby. I’m really looking forward to getting back home to the NSW Waratahs but also hopefully pull on the gold jersey later this year as well,” Beale said in a statement.

“I think the best place for me and my rugby right now is in Australia and I love what Cheik (Michael Cheika) is doing with the Wallabies.”

Wallabies coach Michael Cheika revealed he’d dangled a tempting carrot in front of Beale: a probable starting No.12 jersey for Australia.

Beale had been frustrated as a super-sub in 2015, and was injured all Test season in 2016.

Cheika said: “It’s great for Australian Rugby that we have Kurtley coming back to play his footy on home soil. Even though he’s only been gone a year, it’s a very different Wallabies team now but he will have an important role to play for Australia and the Waratahs as well. He has obviously learned a lot from his time overseas so I’ll be looking for him to help the team reach higher standards this year.”

Cheika is pleased he’ll have a genuine strike weapon back on deck but the big winner of Beale’s decision is undoubtedly NSW, who’ll be able to harness both his talent and his cut-through marketability in the crowded Sydney market.

Waratahs chief executive Andrew Hore said Beale’s homecoming was a welcome news.

“It’s another hero of the game returning, in the same way that Sekope Kepu did, and it its like seeing Big Will, Michael Hooper and Israel running around - it is another people in the rugby landscape know and can associate with and want to go watch,” Hore said.

“But even in non-rugby landscapes too. That’s key. If rugby is to grow, we need to be reaching people who aren’t interested in rugby, that general sports fan.

Kurtley Beale in action for the Wallabies against Wales.

“And Kurtley Beale is one of those of guys with a profile outside of the normal rugby demographic. That’s where he brings real potential value from a commercial perspective.”

Cheika said 10-12 players had turned down big overseas money to stay in Australia in recent months but Beale’s return is the latest in a small group going - and then returning.

Kepu, Leroy Houston and Quade Cooper gave up big bucks and flew home last year but Beale is arguably the most significant prodigal son of Australian rugby - particularly given the money on offer.

“It’s really positive news. When he left we said we’d love to see Kurtley come back some day. It may be another example of sometimes the grass isn’t always greener,” Here said.

“I think it shows Australia as a country has a lot of positives about playing here. And it’s not always money.

“One of the advantages Australia has at the moment is a quality of life that does give us a distinct advantage, which suggests if we do get things right here, more people will be motivated to stay and to return.

“Do I feel like we have all those (commercial) variables in place yet? No.

“Is there the opportunity and does this give us hope that we can rebuild? Yes it does.

“If we focus on that and what’s actually brought Kurtley back, then we can start growing the aspects of that culture. Everyone talks about that culture. New Zealand has a cultural aspect, and Australia also has a cultural aspect that people want to be a part of. How do we accentuate that to make up for that shortfall in income and revenue?”