My Wallabies team against Wales - and Kurtley Beale is in

Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt won’t have missed the performance of Liam Williams in Wales’ loss to the Springboks at Twickenham last weekend. Williams is 33 years old and plies his trade in Japan these days, but he was Wales’ best back. The Welsh believe they have some good young ones coming through – fullback Cam Winnett and big midfielder Mason Grady in particular – but Williams showed they have a long way to go to match the great generation of Welsh players he was part of: Leigh Halfpenny, George North, Jonathan Davies and so on.

Experience is important on the big stage and that’s one reason why Kurtley Beale should be featuring heavily in Wallabies selection discussions. He would be in my Wallabies 23 – probably as the starting fullback but if not then definitely on the bench. That’s not something that looked like even a remote possibility in February, when he was found not guilty of sexual offences against a woman at a Bondi pub.



But Beale’s return to top-level rugby via the Western Force has been a surprising subplot this year, and his selection in the Wallabies squad indicates they have a particular role for him in mind. It helps that he has the versatility to play three positions, but when you break down the Wallabies’ back-three options they do not have a lot of experience, and there will already be a lot of pressure on Noah Lolesio, probably, as the starting No.10.

Kurtley Beale can bring much-needed experience to a new-look Wallabies outfit. Credi.