Bledisloe Cup 2022: Kurtley Beale remembers his brush with royalty

Kurtley Beale never had the chance to meet the Queen — but this encounter with one of her grandsons went down as one of the fondest memories for the recalled Wallaby.

Julian Linden

8 min read

September 10, 2022 - 3:23PM

News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom

Ardie Savea dives in a try. Picture: AFP

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Kurtley Beale never got to meet Queen Elizabeth II in the flesh but the veteran Wallaby did have a close encounter with her grandson – and left a big impression.

Wearing only his budgie smugglers, and with a beer in his hand, Beale met Prince William after a win against Wales in Cardiff in 2017.

He asked the royal patron of Welsh rugby for a selfie and he duly obliged, with the snap sending social media into meltdown when a beaming Beale posted it on his Instagram account.

Recalling his chance meeting with the future king after the death of the Queen, Beale said meeting the royals was one of the highlights of his long and distinguished playing career.

“That’s the perks of playing the great game of rugby. You get to meet some special people along the way,” he said.

“I think it‘s always a huge honour when the royal family comes to visit and watch the game to support the game. It’s obviously a memory of a lifetime.”
Recalled to the Wallabies’ squad for the first time this year, Beale is now eyeing a comeback in Thursday’s first Bledisloe Cup Test against New Zealand in Melbourne.

The Wallabies haven’t won the Bledisloe Cup for two decades and go into the match as outsiders after getting flogged by South Africa last weekend but Beale is convinced his team can overcome the All Blacks, who have also struggled with their consistency.

“After last week’s performance, the guys are taking it pretty hard,” Beale said.

“There‘s been a lot of pointing in the chest, a lot of constructive criticism, a lot of harsh conversations, but ones that are quite honest to be able to allow us to bounce back and make sure that we’ve got our own backyard sorted.

Kurtley Beale of the Wallabies.

“If we have full belief there and that’ll bring that confidence, bring that really good, positive energy and allow us to prepare well, to be able to take on possibly the biggest beast in the world.”

For the team’s long suffering fans, it’s hard to know what to expect from the Wallabies this week.

They have won the opening match in each of the three different series they’ve played this season – against England, Argentina and South Africa – only to lose each follow up match. Last week’s 24-8 loss to the Springboks, on the opening weekend of the new Allianz Stadium, was a new low, coming just after seven teams after the Australians had been crowing after winning easily in Adelaide.

The embarrassing loss in Sydney saw the Wallabies free fall to a worst-ever world ranking of eighth but the cool headed Beale insists the Wallabies are tracking a lot better than their rollercoaster results indicate.

“We understand that we need to lift our game from last week, it was a disappointing loss in Sydney because the Springboks really gave it to us physically and dictated the game upfront,” he said.

“We‘re aware of that and there’s a greater motivation now to play the ABs to test ourselves against one of the best teams in the world.

The Wallabies are trying to win the Bledisloe Cup for the first time since 2002.

“It‘s a huge challenge for us but a lot of the guys are keen to rip in and make sure we’re focused and putting all our energy into a special performance in Melbourne.

“It‘s kind of been a bit of a trend for the Wallabies.

“We really attack the first game but when you’re playing Test match rugby, the challenge is to back that performance up, making sure you‘re physically and mentally prepared.

“The opposition, whether that be Argentina or South Africa, you’re poking the bear there a bit, so the second test match is always going to be a huge challenge.”

2022 Bledisloe Cup

Match 1: at Marvel Stadium, Melbourne, Thursday September 15

Match 2: at Eden Park, Auckland, Saturday September 24

Head to head record:

Played: 173

Australia won: 45 New Zealand won: 120 Drawn: 8

Matches in Melbourne:

1997 – New Zealand 33 Australia 18 at Melbourne Cricket Ground

1998 – Australia 24 New Zealand 16 at Melbourne Cricket Ground

2007 – Australia 20 New Zealand 15 at Melbourne Cricket Ground

2010 – New Zealand 49 Australia 28 at Marvel Stadium

KIWIS SAY BLEDISLOE NO LONGER THEIR TOP PRIORITY

Jamie Pandaram

All Blacks coach Ian Foster has backed the decision of his best player, Ardie Savea, to miss the opening Bledisloe Cup match for the birth of his third child despite the team’s rollercoaster form.

Backrower Savea has been New Zealand’s top performer in a year punctuated by shock defeats, but under-pressure coach Foster supports his decision while revealing the All Blacks are prioritising The Rugby Championship over the Bledisloe.

“He’s a key leader, a key player, but I’m massively supportive of the decision,” Foster said before his squad departed New Zealand for Melbourne on Friday.

New Zealand's Ardie Savea will miss the opening Bledisloe Cup match in Melbourne.

“If you look at the last two or three years, where players have had to make some pretty tough choices with families, it’s great to be able to support him and Sas (wife Saskia Hartman-Hechenberger) and their family.”

Hoskins Sotutu and Akira Ioane are likely to battle for the vacant No. 8 jersey worn in every Test this year by Savea.

The All Blacks bounced back to form in their previous match, thumping Argentina 53-3 after the Pumas had recorded their first win over the Kiwis on New Zealand soil.

That followed a one-all tour to South Africa — after which Foster was retained as head coach through to next year’s World Cup despite calls to sack him for Scott Robertson — and the 2-1 series loss to Ireland in June.

The All Blacks are on top of The Rugby Championship ladder, but while they’ve held the Bledisloe Cup since 2003 Foster is more concerned about the four nation tournament which they’ve won the past two years.

“Right now we’re more fixated on The Rugby Championship, if you look at the state that’s in, all of the four teams have had a bit of inconsistency about how they’ve gone about it,” Foster said.

“It’s a very even competition, so that’s probably where our eyes are firmly at the moment.

“It is definitely unusual, but it’s a sign that Argentina are certainly growing as a team, all their squad is now based in the northern hemisphere so they’ve been playing a lot of high competition games in the last couple of years. They’ve certainly reaped the rewards of that.”

The Wallabies are confident winger Marika Koroibete (head knock) and prop Taniela Tupou (calf) will be available for the match. The pair will need to undergo further testing this week to be cleared.

Marika Koroibete (ground) is expected to be available for the match next week.

Foster gave his players three days off after their win over Argentina.

“It’s critical, it was a short week off obviously with a Thursday game, but it’s just a nice two or three day breather to clear the head,” he said.

“It’s one thing about Test matches, we’ve always had a flow in The Rugby Championship, two Tests on, one off. The last couple of years that hasn’t been there with a whole lot of different reasons.

“So it does feel like we’re getting back to normal a little bit. And it does mean you can ramp up the intensity for a couple of weeks, then breathe for a little bit, get ready and do it again.

“The mindset’s good.

“We’ve had a few days off. We’d like to get over there and really start our work.

“It’s a big series, we all know the state of The Rugby Championship, it’s a very even competition and every game matters.

“So we’re going there to Melbourne, a new location for a lot of us [after] a number of years to play a pretty important game.”

The heat on All Blacks coach Ian Foster continues to build.

WALLABIES UNVEIL SQUAD TO BREAK HOODOO

– Julian Linden

Veteran utility back Kurtley Beale has been added to an expanded 36-man Wallabies’ squad for Australia’s upcoming two Bledisloe Cup Tests against New Zealand.

Beale, 33, made the last of his 95 appearances for the Wallabies on the 2021 Spring Tour and has been recalled despite not playing a match of any kind since March because of injury.

Another 33-year-old, lock Cadeyrn Neville, is also back in after recovering from a knee problem he sustained in the series loss to England in July.

Neville replaces Rory Arnold who declared himself unavailable because of the impending birth of his first child.

“It‘s great to be able to keep the core of our group together and welcome Cadeyrn back to the mob, while we wish Rory all the best for what’s an incredibly exciting time for him and his family,” Wallabies’ coach Dave Rennie said.

“Kurtley is a welcome return to the squad after recovering from a long-term injury and will bring his passion for the jersey along with his wealth of experience at Test level.”

The rest of the squad remains unchanged despite last weekend’s embarrassing 24-8 loss to South Africa in the Wallabies’ first match at the new Allianz Stadium.

Kurtley Beale is back in the Wallabies squad.

Prop Taniela Tupou, five-eighth Noah Lolesio and centre Hunter Paisami were all included despite having to pass further fitness tests.

With two rounds to go, all four teams in the rugby championship are separated by just one point.

The Wallabies’ first Test against New Zealand is at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium with the returning clash at Eden Park in Auckland on September 24.

“We know how important these next two Tests are with silverware on the line and we‘ll be expecting a response after the disappointment of last weekend’s loss,” Rennie said.

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Wallabies squad for New Zealand Tests (age, team, Tests played)

Allan Alaalatoa (28, ACT Brumbies, 58 Tests)

Kurtley Beale (33, NSW Waratahs, 95 Tests)

Angus Bell (21, NSW Waratahs, 19 Tests)

Jock Campbell (27, Queensland Reds, uncapped)

Pone Fa‘amausili (25, Melbourne Rebels, 1 Test)

Folau Fainga‘a (27, ACT Brumbies, 31 Tests)

Lalakai Foketi (27, NSW Waratahs, 2 Tests)

Bernard Foley (32, Kubota Spears, 71 Tests)

Nick Frost (22, ACT Brumbies, 4 Tests)

Langi Gleeson (21, NSW Waratahs, uncapped)