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Michael Cheika is doing everything he can to keep Kurtley Beale in Australian rugby, but concedes he’ll have no bearing on the troubled playmaker’s fate at Friday’s code-of-conduct hearing.
Beale’s immediate playing future will be decided by an independent three-man panel comprising District Court judge Mark Williams SC, former Wallaby David Giffin and barrister Dominic Villa.
The hearing into his alleged sending of lewd texts and offensive images to teammates and inadvertently to former Wallabies business and logistics manager Di Patston will take place at ARU headquarters in Sydney from 5pm AEDT.
Cheika and his 33-man Wallabies squad are scheduled to fly out to Europe for their five-match end-of-season tour 10 minutes earlier.
While Cheika would love to have his NSW Waratahs playmaker on the plane with him, the newly appointed national coach is staying out of the politics to avoid prejudicing Beale’s hearing.
“There’s no doubt he had a great season last year. But I’m sure that Friday everything that needs to get done will get done,” Cheika said on Thursday.
“But it’s pretty important that I stay out of it and let it take its course.”
Cheika said he spoke to Beale earlier this week, while ARU chief Bill Pulver admitted during his unveiling of the new Wallabies coach that the pair had discussed the backline ace during contract negotiations.
Cheika is privately very concerned about the ramifications of the Waratahs losing Beale should he be found guilty of misconduct and and not be offered a new ARU contract.
Apart from that dreaded scenario leaving the Waratahs impossibly short of time to find a quality replacement ahead of their Super Rugby title defence commencing in February, Cheika fears losing Beale would also impact on the franchise’s ability to recruit other stars.
Patston resigned earlier this month citing stress following the ordeal which triggered one of the most tumultuous fortnights in Australian rugby history.
The saga also claimed the scalp of coach Ewen McKenzie, who stood down after Saturday’s Bledisloe Cup loss to New Zealand.
It is unclear whether McKenzie or Patston, due to no longer being employees of the ARU, will give evidence at Friday’s hearing when Beale faces a charge of breaching section 7.3 of the ARU’s Member Protection policy, which relates to anti-discrimination and harassment.
Even if Beale, who has a long rap sheet, is cleared of misconduct, Cheika said that didn’t necessarily mean he’d be on the next plane to Europe for Wallabies showdowns with the Barbarians, Wales, France, Ireland and England on successive Saturdays in November.
“I wouldn’t put it that way just yet,” Cheika said on Nine’s Today Show on Thursday.
“You’ve got to just let it pan out.”
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.