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Rennie reveals biggest challenge facing Kurtley Beale if he's to make a fourth World Cup

8th February, 2022
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8th February, 2022
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Wallabies coach Dave Rennie has welcomed the news that Kurtley Beale looks set for a Super Rugby return but has outlined the biggest challenge facing the veteran in his quest to play in a fourth World Cup next year.

Beale left Australia after the 2019 RWC exit to play in France, but reports from there last month said he had rejected a contract extension with Racing 92 to return to Australia mid year.

The Waratahs are known to want the 33-year-old, who returned to the Wallaby gold on the Spring Tour in November, but a massive pay cut is likely and Tahs coach Darren Coleman has ruled him out of contention for the campaign that starts next week.

It’s expected Beale will sign an 18 month deal from the start of the Test season, and then play Super Rugby in the build up to the World Cup.

Rennie said he was impressed with Beale’s impact when he joined the Wallabies in Europe, although he lagged against England, he did show marked improvement against Wales.

JIM TUCKER: Is Beale the answer to Australia’s fullback conundrum?

“Obviously passionate, desperate to be part of the Wallabies again and his contribution was massive,” Rennie said in reflecting on what Beale adds.

“He worked really hard on his game, contributed lots in regards to the discussion and our planning and performed really well.

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“He looked really sharp against Wales and his real point of difference has often been his speed and footwork and making sure that’s at the top. That’s probably the challenge for him.

“So if he’s coming home, that would be great from our perspective because we’ll have a lot more influence from a Super Rugby point of view compared to if he was playing in France.”

A relaxation of the Giteau Law on replacements saw Rennie look widely to keep his squad fresh and impactful throughout last season.

He has introduced 20 newcomers to Test footy since replacing Michael Cheika in 2020, but thinks there will be an easing in the churn as thoughts focus on the 2023 World Cup.

“I’d expect us to have a more settled look around the squad because we’ve got a lot of knowledge and we’ve got a lot of confidence in the guys we’re using,” Rennie said.

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“But they’ve got to perform and, if they do that, hopefully they can build on what they’ve done so far.

“But we’re certainly not going to close the door on anyone jumping out of the pack.

“The door’s always open. If someone emerges from left field, they’ll be rewarded.”

Although it was expected late last year, there is still yet to be an announcement on changes to the eligibility rules which will give a blueprint for Rennie on how he can build his squad.

“What we’ve being doing over the last couple of years is picking some young men who hopefully by the time they go to a World Cup have got 40 Test caps under them – or maybe more, said Rennie.

“So we learnt a lot last year. We had a tough international season and we’ve got another one which is awesome.”

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Rennie said he and other support staff were mulling a trip to France to scout locations and do early logistics on the World Cup campaign. He said they were closely monitoring the Six Nations tournament and if the trip coincided with the tournament he would like to attend some games.

But of more urgent interest is the Super Rugby kickoff, and he said Wallabies staff have been in close contact with the states around their preparations.

“I think teams are really well conditioned. There’s been a big shift in the last couple of years around that,” said Rennie.

“We’ve spent a lot of time in Super Rugby environments and we’ve gone in there to share and learn off them as well.”

He rejected any thought that the Wallabies were having a tactical input on style or where certain players should feature.

“We’re not coming in saying how to play or who to play,” said Rennie. “Everyone’s got their own DNA. Look at the Brumbies – renowned for their maul but have tried to grow their game over the last couple of years and done a good job around that and the Reds are a different side and so on.

“It’s more around the core skills – guys understanding from individual development plans their roles and the areas they need to be better and what’s their point of difference” Keep excelling in that.”

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This, he said , was the time for the clubs to take centre stage, adding: “We’re trying to be a resource and our time in the clubs is a chance for us to learn as well. The relationship’s been really good. We’ll share analysis to hopefully help when we play the Kiwi sides.”

But there is no doubt the Super Rugby players are on trial for greater rewards.

“We’ll pick a Test side every week based on what we’re seeing,” said Rennie.

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