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The decision not to tear up Kurtley Beale’s contract has shocked and divided the rugby community judging by comments on various rugby forums, including right here on The Roar.
Thankfully, new coach Michael Cheika had the good sense not to recall the notorious trouble-maker to the Wallabies’ European tour.
Whether it’s because he genuinely wants to give him time to “take a step back and let everything settle down” or whether he realises Beale simply isn’t good enough to displace any incumbents, remains to be seen.
Either way, the ARU has done itself no favours granting the repeat-offender yet another chance.
Friday’s hearing answered zero questions while opening a pandora’s box of new ones. The reality is we’ll never know what really happened in this elongated drama.
We’ll never know who sent the second SMS, we’ll never know if Di Patston’s CV was falsified, we’ll never know if there was something more in her relationship with Link and we’ll only know why Link really resigned if or when he speaks out in his biography.
The only thing we do know as fact is that Kurtley Beale was found guilty of misconduct, again.
The ‘independent’ three-person code of conduct tribunal, which notably contained a RUPA representative and no females, fined Beale $45,000 and allowed him to be made available for selection immediately.
Under the circumstances, and without further evidence provided by Patston or McKenzie, this was probably the right punishment. However, the tribunal was tasked with investigating the SMS incident and issuing a punishment in isolation of Beale’s other indiscretions.
Taken as a whole, the ARU would be very well justified, and indeed would restore some lost integrity, if it were to pass on renewal of Beale’s contract with a public statement to the effect of what is printed below.
“The ARU has taken the decision not to renew Kurtley Beale’s contract on the grounds of ongoing behavioural issues. Our expectation is that all men representing the Wallabies should be exceptional role models, on and off the field. We sincerely hope that Kurtley will demonstrate he can maintain a high level of integrity and respect, and be a positive influence on his teammates. We look forward to welcoming him back to the national team as soon as we feel his is consistently meeting the required standards.”
Dropping Beale from the ARU payroll will free up some much needed cash for them to invest in promotion of the NRC next year, or create some goodwill by refunding $200 each club had to fork out to help fund the competition this year.
Or they could offer Kyle Godwin, Samu Kerevi, Sean McMahon and possibly a few other rookies a small ARU contract to motivate and help develop them to the next level.
In short, there are better ways to spend the money.
Australian rugby has disillusioned many fans over the past few weeks. It’s time to start winning them back.
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.