Waratahs Hope Beale Makes Eyes Light Up

Sydney Morning Herald

Thursday January 18, 2007

Rupert Guinness

KURTLEY Beale will graduate from schoolboy to professional player on Saturday night when he debuts for NSW in their Super 14 trial against the Brumbies at Wollongong.

But there will be barely a split-second for him or any of his Waratahs "family" to celebrate the occasion.

From the moment Beale touches the ball, all eyes will be on the 18-year-old five-eighth to see what match-winning magic he can produce.

And whether his first possession produces a flash of brilliance or not, the chances are those same eyes will remain on him for every second he plays at WIN Stadium. Such is the pressure that falls on superstars in the making, such as Beale, touted as Australian rugby's next jewel well before he left St Joseph's College last year.

Beale will be named today in a NSW squad of 26 or 27 players for Saturday's trial, the first of two for the Waratahs before the Super 14 kick-off on February 2.

It is most probable he will play the second half of the match, in which NSW and the Brumbies are both likely to rotate two line-ups over the full 80 minutes.

Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie is trying to temper brewing expectation that Beale will be the instant success many have said - and pray - he will be.

"He will be playing, definitely. But he has to pick up the knowledge. Organising the team will be a fairly significant part," McKenzie said. "We know he has the skills, we are comfortable with that. But we will be looking at how he manages the team, managing the performance.

"People just think that just happens. People who play No.10 have to have the vision and all that, but they have to be able to control and call the shots, too.

"Some guys can just walk out and do pretty well, but they are pretty rare. If they weren't, we would have a lot of five-eights."

McKenzie also warned of the heightened game speed that Beale, whose most recent match was at schoolboy level, would experience and that can't be simulated at training.

"Every time you step up a level the speed of game increases, too," McKenzie said. "Without going to club rugby, he is is going straight in [to Super 14]. So he has jumped a couple of levels in game speed. Your thinking must be the same, too."

From the NSW squad named, Wallabies rookie Tatafu Polota-Nau, will be the only one of seven Waratahs on "restricted training activities" listed to play.

The exemption the hooker has been given is timely, as it gives him an extra chance to impress for a starting position with NSW for the Super 14 opener, with fellow Wallabies rake Adam Freier missing the trial because of a hamstring strain.

In other news:

* Former Waratahs backs coach Brian Melrose has been named head coach of the Western Sydney side for this year's Australian Rugby Championship.

Currently involved with Manly and the Australian Sevens sides, he is the third head coach to be picked for the three NSW sides in the eight-team competition.

The other two are Col Jeffs (Sydney) and John McKee (Central Coast).

* In France, Australian Tim Lane, assistant coach of the 1999 World Cup-winning Wallabies and recently axed as coach of Top 14 club Brive, has signed as general manager and backs coach of second-division Toulon on a six-month deal.

© 2007 Sydney Morning Herald

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