Rugby 2022: Wallabies hopeful Kurtley Beale unloads on shocking treatment by French club

Busted but back on Australian soil, Kurtley Beale has hit out at poor injury management in France as he clings to the dream of finishing his international career as a Wallaby.

Kurtley Beale wears a Wallabies Indigenous jersey on the Gold Coast. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Kurtley Beale has set himself eight weeks to be fit, firing and available for Wallabies selection as the 33-year-old eyes a fairytale finish to his international career after returning home from a two-year stint in France.

Beale made a quick stop into Brisbane to check in with Wallabies coach Dave Rennie and the team ahead of a return to Sydney where he will continue rehab on his injured calf with an eye to being ready to go in two months’ time.

Beale won’t be available for Australia’s opening two The Rugby Championship games against Argentina on August 7 and 14 and will be 50-50 to be match-fit for the Springboks a fortnight later. But he has circled the September 15 clash with the All Blacks at Marvel Stadium as his major milestone to return.

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Kurtley Beale has circled the September 15 clash with the All Blacks at Marvel Stadium as his major milestone to return.

It’s been a frustrating year so far for Beale, who has only just returned to running after a five-month lay-off battling a high-calf/hamstring injury that he says came about from mismanagement by his French club, Racing 92.

“Top 14 is a bit of a slog, your body is kind of disrespected in that regard because the Frenchies just roll you out each week without understanding the long-term effects, hence probably why the injury happened because it was just consistent playing and poor management,” said Beale during a NAIDOC week celebration on the Gold Coast.

Kurtley Beale wears a Wallabies Indigenous jersey on the Gold Coast. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

“It was 10 games straight (at one point) there, (playing) 80 minutes. It was straight after the spring tour, so it was quite a heavy load but I knew that going over there. It is what it is.

“It’s great to be able to freshen up and come home. I haven’t seen family in two years.

“I’ve come home to make sure I play my part here and achieve the things I want to do in the game, so I’ll be focused on make sure I do everything I can to achieve those things.”

Those goals include making amends for a disappointing quarter-final exit at the 2019 World Cup and breaking Australia’s two-decade long Bledisloe Cup drought.

The last time Beale pulled on a Wallabies jersey was in November, when he was a surprise call-up to face Scotland in Edinburgh.

Australia fullback Kurtley Beale makes a break to set up the second Wallabies try during the Autumn Nations Series match between Wales and Australia in Cardiff, Wales, last year.

“When you step away from the game in Australia but also that Wallabies jersey; it’s a special honour, one of the highest honours, and while I felt I could still give back to the game at that level it lit a fire (in me) and Dave (Rennie) was very transparent in terms of what he needed from me,” Beale said.

“Dave always has that environment to get the best out of you … and you probably saw that in the performance on the weekend. The character came out in the guys. They led well, they were calm, there was no panic and they got the job done and you want to be part of that.

“You do feel there’s something special brewing here and I think for me toward the back end of my career now, I want to be involved in those moments because you don’t know when the last one will be.”

With Tom Banks having likely played his last game in a Wallabies jersey after breaking his arm against England, the No. 15 looks to be Andrew Kellaway’s for now. But Beale is up for a fight.

“It’s very disappointing for Banksy. He’s a quality player and it’s really sad to see him get injured in that game,” Beale said.

“I’m a competitive bloke. I’m stubborn in my own ways to push and fight for a position and no doubt, I thought Kellaway did brilliantly,” he added.

“I’ll be doing everything I can to create the environment for competition to make everyone better. Like a lot of the other guys who have come in, they’ve set the bar high and that’s how we want it, to push ourselves to be the best because we’ll be playing the best.”