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Reports - Waratahs centurion left out of Wallabies group

Michael Hooper and Kurtley Beale. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Already the Wallabies were going to be on a rebuilding mission this year after a raft of senior players departed overseas post the 2019 World Cup, but the latest reports out of Australia suggest that one of the remaining senior members of the squad could also be out of favour.

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The Sydney Morning Herald are reporting that Kurtley Beale, who’s accrued over 120 Super Rugby caps for the Waratahs, has been left out of a wider Australian training squad put together by new head coach Dave Rennie and his assistants.

The unofficial “players of national interest” squad is comprised of Wallaby-elligible players that the coaching set-up believe could be a part of their plans later in the year.

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Kurtley Beale has reportedly been eyed up by a French Top 14 club.

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Kurtley Beale has reportedly been eyed up by a French Top 14 club.

While exclusion from the squad doesn’t mean a player is out of the running for international selection, it also won’t come as great news for Beale, who is possibly weighing up a move to France next year.

Beale, with 92 Test caps to his name, is one of the most experienced players still residing in Australia after the likes of David Pocock, Bernard Foley, Christian Lealiifano, Will Genia, Samu Kerevi, Adam Ashley-Cooper and Rory Arnold all called time on their international careers after the World Cup.

While he hasn’t had the most exemplary season for the Waratahs, who were languishing near the bottom of the Super Rugby table prior to the competition’s suspension last month, many would still expect the utility back to be included as at least a squad option for the international season.

Beale’s other Waratahs teammates aren’t rumoured to make up a large portion of the squad either thanks to their slow start to the season, although young prop Angus Bell is a supposed inclusion.

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Other young guns rumoured to be included are Brumbies backs Noah Lolesio and Irae Simone and the Reds trio of Angus Blyth, Jock Campbell and Harry Wilson.

With Foley and Lealiifano heading overseas, the Wallabies are in dire need of some depth in the first five position and Lolesio has been the form 10 in Australia this season.

There are no wider expectations regarding when rugby will be back on the table, due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the Wallabies were scheduled to host Ireland and Fiji in July before competing in The Rugby Championship a month later.

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H
Head high tackle 3 hours ago
Can Samoa and Tonga ever become contenders when their top talent is skimmed?

I think you have gone in the wrong direction here Nick. I think you need to delve down into the rules etc around Moana Pacifica’s selection policies and then you need to understand that a lot of KIWI BORN rugby players have PI heritage. It appears ok for the 4 home nations to pillage NZ born players constantly without retribution but you want to question whether NZ BORN players should be eligible for NZ? Seems a real agenda in there.

Go back and look at the actual Aims and agenda for MP becoming a entity and you see lots of things enshrined in policy that you arnt mentioning here. EG there is an allowance for a percentage of MP to be NZ eligible. This was done so MP could actually become competitive. Lets be real. If it wasnt this way then MP would not be competitive.

There also seems to be some sort of claim ( mainly from the NH ) that NZ is “cashing in” on MP, which , quite frankly is a major error. Are you aware of how much MP costs NZR Financially?

39 NZ born rugby players played at the last world cup for Samoa or Tonga. PLUS plenty for Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales.

Taumoefolau is a BORN AND BRED NZer. However I very strongly doubt he will be an AB, but who do you believe he should be allowed to play for? Levi Aumua is ALSO a born and bred Kiwi.

Aumua was eligible to represent Samoa and Fiji for the Pacific Nations Cup in July that year but ended up playing for neither. He IS eligible for his nation of Birth too Nick

He is a Kiwi. Are you saying an NZ born, raised Kiwi cant play for NZ now?

Sorry Nick Kiwi born and bred actually qualify for NZ.

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