Kurtley Beale will not be joining the Wallabies’ squad for their European spring tour, despite being eligible for selection following his code of conduct hearing.
The NSW Waratahs’ back on Friday night was found guilty of a serious violation of the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) code of conduct by an independent three-man tribunal in Sydney and fined $45,000 for sending an offensive photograph to an ARU employee.
Following the hearing, the ARU’s CEO Bill Pulver said Beale was immediately eligible for Wallaby selection and he would contact new coach Michael Cheika to inform him of the outcome.
Cheika and the Wallabies were in transit to Europe at the time, having left just a few hours earlier, although there was a suggestion the coach could be contacted during a mid-journey stopover.
Before the Wallabies arrived in London, the ARU issued a brief statement on Saturday afternoon (AEDT), saying Cheika had advised Beale would not join the squad for the tour.
The 25-year-old, who has also committed a number of other off-field indiscretions, was fined for sending a text and offensive photo to ARU employee Di Patston during the recent trip to Argentina.
Capped 47 times, Beale did not front the media after the hearing but, in a statement, apologised to Patston and the wider community and said he would work to regain the respect of his teammates, fans and the Australian public.
Chivas
Guest
Funny how you haven't missed a thong and don't see your own hypocritical stance. Here is something for you to think on. People pass their opinion on articles and opinions. What you suggest is that I don't post an opinion of an opinion. Then go on to pass comment that you are sick of policing comments. Surely for a guy who doesn't miss a thing, this is not brain surgery... but then again based on your contribution...
Mike
Guest
I just thought that was what he meant because that was in fact what the tribunal decided. But I agree, I can't read his mind.
Mike
Guest
"ypu entirely miss the pint" He's a thirsty man... :)
Mike
Guest
Interesting point. I am not sure what the ARU rules say about this - does he have to have been contracted to an S15 side in the 2014 season, or just be currently signed to play with an S15 side? If the latter, then I suppose he could be selected if Cheika was so inclined.
soapit
Guest
yes i think number three hasnt been thought through too well
soapit
Guest
yep if thats what he meant that would make sense. its good that you guys have developed this bond where you know each others minds well enough to confidently expand each others comments. hopefully it could save doubling up between you in future. bearing that all in mind youd probably be the person to ask. do you think kpm intentionally left out the qualifier "to play" so that it would create the impression that beale was completely blameless in this whole thing? or do you think he just accidentally chose words that had a significantly different meaning to what he intended.
Magic Sponge
Guest
agree that just have so many options that are better than Beale at 12/ Cll, Goodwin or Kerevi would be better options. Yeah and the fact he may leave to league and leave the wallabies stranded. It is not like he gives a rats about anyone else
Bakkies
Guest
I haven't the article saved but the gist of it is: - Wasps are split up in to two sections. Wasps FC Amateur section in London. Pro playing in High Wycombe. Theoretically Wasps FC can move up the leagues like Richmond did. - Wasps under previous owners were close to administration and relegation two seasons ago - Wycombe Wanderers and Wasps had a new stadium bid rejected by the council. Wasps are losing money playing there and couldn't find a home back in London. - CCFC got kicked out of the Ricoh Arena but are back now. Wasps under new ownership brought a good share in the stadium which has been approved. They are hoping to buy it outright. So they will be playing out of there come December. - Wasps currently only have 2,500 season ticket holders and they have been offered travel up to and back from Coventry. - Coventry has a Championship Rugby club and close to Leicester, Moseley, Worcester and Northampton Rugby clubs. - Land Rover who are based in Coventry are the new sponsors. - Coventry RFC are fine with the move. - London Irish are looking at moving to the new Brentford stadium.
cs
Guest
Hey WobbliesFan, I thought you promised us that you weren't going to follow rugby anymore? No reneging. A promise is a promise.
Shane D
Roar Rookie
I'm just wondering where this 'director of coaching' position mentioned in a few other places is going to fit in. I read with interest that quite a few people have commented on Cheika being a 'this is my team' kind of coach & wouldn't stand for Pulver etc getting involved. How does a director of coaching sync in with that? I'm not having a go I am just curious to hear the opinion of those that seem to have a handle on how Cheika goes about things.
grapeseed
Guest
No one has identified the number because the second message was sent using WhatsApp, so it's IP not SMS/MMS. Beale has never directly denied it, just that "the evidence did not establish" it. In the press conference, Pulver described the evidence as "inconclusive". Not that you'll read that quote in most (any?) news articles. Despite the fact that the panel was truly independent, the ARU still controlled the outcome by not being as forensic or as diligent in prosecuting the case as they could have, especially with achieving an admission on the first text already.
s.t.rine
Guest
With many to choose from it is a good move to leave Beale at home These next five games are important & distractions should be kept to a minimum S T
pjm
Roar Rookie
Questions can be answered in any appropriate investigation, those answers can then be reported through the media. Rather than trial by media as many roarers tend to prefer, and we all saw how that turned out with KB.
Shane D
Roar Rookie
Good lord, you mean to say two successful business men both chose to live in an upmarket part of a major city. I am deeply shocked.
cs
Guest
There are many possible suspects of course, but the top of the list must be the original dobber, i.e., Patstone. I don't think we know that the second message was literally 'sent'. All we know is that it wasn't sent from KB's phone, i.e., the original message might have been doctored to make it look worse than it was in the dobbing act. Prima facie, she has form, given the apparent doctoring of her regime. I guess it's also conceivable that Patstone did the leaking, seeking to bias the public in her favour, adding the medication story to enhance the victim card. In this line of logic, she also brought down EM, since he had seen the first text but presumably not the doctored text, leaving him compromised between the two stories.
pjm
Roar Rookie
KB told MC about the text in June.
HiKa
Roar Rookie
...
T bone
Guest
It is just not going to go away until all these questions get answered....
jeznez
Roar Guru
Serious Bakkies? I would love to know more about what has been going there.
Greg
Guest
It's sporting administration circa1986- it really is. This rugby administration think that their viewing public is so stupid, that they will just move on... I believe they won't...stuff like this never does. Let's just deal with it now, or I guarantee it will surface 2weeks before World Cup starts. Di and Ewen won't appear- fine... But the ARU have said that they know more, they just won't release the information- this is very naive. I can't help but think the 2nd text was sent by someone very important to the World Cup challenge... I think that only because there is an absolute void of info. Union cannot afford this... Honesty and transparency will Create loyalty. Cover ups and misinformation will create divide and animosity which it certainly has. In reading the posts over the past week, I see names from those that support Beale still posting, while others opposing the ARU have stopped... It's a bad sign- it means they just don't care- that's terrible for Australian rugby as it can't afford to lose anymore fans.