Kurtley Beale is modern-day Mark Ella and holds key to Wallabies’ World Cup hopes, says Alan Jones
KURTLEY Beale is the modern-day Mark Ella and must be given the reins if the Wallabies are to win the World Cup. So says former coach Alan Jones.
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KURTLEY Beale is the modern-day Mark Ella and must be given the reins if the Wallabies are to win the World Cup in England. So says former coach Alan Jones.
Days after Beale expressed his dissatisfaction with having to come off the bench in the three Tests against France, Jones described the playmaker as a “freak” who national coach Ewen McKenzie should base his game around.
McKenzie preferred to use Beale’s Waratahs teammate Bernard Foley, who is defensively more reliable and is developing at Test level.
But Jones, who guided the Wallabies to their Grand Slam tour in 1984, says to win the World Cup in the northern hemisphere will require thinking outside the box.
“McKenzie has made very significant changes, but nonetheless, you are putting security ahead of satisfaction playing this way,” said Jones, now Australia’s most influential radio broadcaster.
“You’ve got to be sitting at ground level to understand how good Beale is.
“So what if he doesn’t want to tackle? Did Mark Ella want to tackle? No, but I had 14 other players who could tackle, I didn’t have 14 players who could attack like him, though, and it’s the same with Beale. The northern hemisphere is one-dimensional; plough it up, play for the penalty and kick the goal.
“When we went over in 1984 and won the Grand Slam, we did it by playing a different brand of football.
“Everything Beale wants to do is interrupted by forwards who are in the way.
“It’s the forwards’ job to clear the opposition forwards out of the backline, so Beale can create opportunities for players running into space.
“Anybody who saw him play in the GPS for St Joseph’s will tell you he is a freak. People like Beale, James O’Connor, Israel Folau and Adam Ashley-Cooper are quite brilliant players. They are players as good as there has ever been, and it is for Australia to use them properly.”
The Brumbies’ Matt Toomua is McKenzie’s preferred inside centre and he has been brilliant in his short Test career, but Jones believes the unpredictability of Beale and O’Connor would give the team more potency.
“You have to speak to the likes of Beale and O’Connor and ask how they want to play, you’ve got to connect with that young generation of player who possess that incredible talent,” Jones said.
Jones feels Australian rugby is progressing well from where it was two years ago. His comments come as his 1984 teams prepare to mark its 30th anniversary with a charity lunch in November.
“We had no idea how big it was until we got to the hotel in Scotland, and we realised that Australia was focusing on us,” Jones said.
“At the time you don’t think it will endure, but because it has endured, we must be entitled to celebrate it.”
■ The Grand Slam 30th anniversary lunch will be held on Friday, November 14 (from noon) at The Grand Ballroom, The Westin, Sydney.
Price: $230 each, tables of 10 for $2300. Details at frontrowevents.com.au
Originally published as Kurtley Beale is modern-day Mark Ella and holds key to Wallabies’ World Cup hopes, says Alan Jones