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Sanity resumed at ARU headquarters last night with Kurtley Beale fined $45,000 for breaching the Code of Conduct, but free to join the Wallabies end of year tour.
The Wallabies left yesterday for their tour while Beale was giving the evidence that saved his career.
“I’m happy the evidence presented to the tribunal did not establish that I sent the second text and photograph.”
“That’s why I fought so hard to prove my innocence,” Beale said after knowing his fate.
The whole affair has been badly handled from the get go, but thankfully the end result means Beale stays in rugby.
While Beale has apologised for his actions – which were daft in the first place – he was found not guilty of sending a more serious text message.
But there has been no mention of any apology from the so-called Wallaby business manager Di Patston. Nor has there been any apology forthcoming from former Wallaby coach Ewen McKenzie, whose treatment of Beale – including his refusal to select him – deserved explanation.
In short, Patston and McKenzie have both got off Scott free, which was easy to do once they resigned their ARU posts. As a result they were not required to give any evidence last night.
The bottom line, and the best news yet in the last month, is that Kurtley Beale will resume his career immediately. With Michael Cheika the new coach, Beale will blossom as he did with the Waratahs.
Beale was dying on the vine under McKenzie’s watch, and would have switched to rugby league had the issues been left up in the air.
For years rugby has been guilty of sweeping anything too hard under the carpet. But thankfully the Beale debacle was met head on, and a justifiable result has been reached.
The three-man Code of Conduct panel was chaired by District Court judge Mark Williams SC, with John Boultbee representing the Rugby Union Players Association, and barrister Dominic Villa representing the ARU.
It appears the real truth will never surface. In the lead-up to last night’s hearing there was the chance that Beale was going to be burned at the stake and held responsible as the scapegoat for the text affairs.
But the Beale evidence must have been strong for the panel to come up with the $45,000 fine after a hearing lasting four hours, with two additional hours of deliberation.
Now the Wallabies can get on with the business of winning all five games on this current tour. Perhaps today we’ll find out when Kurtley Beale will join his teammates, who will be delighted with the result.
Most Wallabies would be pleased that Beale is on his way, especially skipper Michael Hooper, vice-captain Adam Ashley-Cooper and John Eales Medal-winner Israel Folau, who all spoke up in defence of Beale in the lead-up to the hearing.
Now it’s all over, let’s get on with rugby.