Kurtley Beale will return to Australia within months, after the end of his one-year deal with English club Wasps.
Beale has signed a two-year deal with the ARU and the Waratahs in Super Rugby.
“It’s great to be heading back to Australian Rugby. I’m really looking forward to getting back home to the NSW Waratahs but also hopefully pull on the gold jersey later this year as well,” he said.
Following recent conversations with Australia coach Michael Cheika, the 28-year-old feels he could play a central role for Australia as they build-up to the 2019 Rugby World Cup. In a statement, Wasps said they were fully supportive of Beale returning home to pursue his international ambitions.
Beale said it was a tough decision to make. “This has been a really hard decision because of how much I’ve been enjoying my time at Wasps. The squad, coaches, medical team and fans have been brilliant towards me since I arrived and I will always appreciate how they supported me through the injury rehab and gave me time to get my confidence back on the field,” he said.
“I signed a one-year deal from the outset to enable me to keep my options open. I came very close to agreeing a new contract with Wasps, but I believe to achieve my international rugby aspirations I need to be back home in Australia.”
Beale said he would love to return to the international side. “To be able to wear the Wallaby jersey again would be the greatest privilege and at this stage of my career I want to give myself the best opportunity of representing Australia in the 2019 Rugby World Cup. The vision Cheik has for the Wallabies is really exciting and is something I really want to be part of and contribute to,” he said.
“Hopefully Wasps’ fans will appreciate my reasons for returning home and how important representing my country is to me. This experience at Wasps is something I will never forget.”
Wasps’ director of rugby Dai Young said Beale is a “world class player”. “I know how difficult a decision this has been for Kurtley, as he has really enjoyed his time here at Wasps and has settled in brilliantly on and off the field. He is a popular member of the dressing room, as well as a world class player. All new contract discussions between us and Kurtley have been very amicable and he will leave with our very best wishes in the summer ... However, I know he and Michael Cheika have spoken recently and Kurtley feels he has an important role to play in the Wallabies’ set-up, leading up to the World Cup.
“Kurtley is a proud Australian, who quite rightly wants to represent his country, and neither I nor the club would ever discourage a player from playing international rugby, so we fully understand why he would want to return.”
Young said Beale would be hard to replace. “It goes without saying, there ... aren’t many Kurtley Beale’s available in world rugby.”
When Beale, who has 60 Australia caps, signed for Wasps in May 2016 it was said to be one of the biggest signings in Premiership history. His salary was reported to be £700,000 ($1.13m).
