Inside the private world of schoolboy sensation Beale
Mark Ella
18 June 2004
The Australian
HE would be the answer to the Waratahs' perennial five-eighth problems, but he's only 15.
NSW coach Ewen McKenzie will have to wait a few years before Kurtley Beale, the gifted pivot from St Joseph's College in Sydney, is ready for the big time.
Beale first came to the attention of my brother Glen a couple of years ago with outstanding performances in rugby league and then union at St Joseph's, a breeding ground for many Wallabies.
We formed a company, Ella Management and Events, two years ago, and it was suggested we have a look at this skinny Aboriginal kid.
An old mate from our playing days and a Joeys old boy, former Wallabies captain Steve Williams, had a son in the same team as Kurtley and told Glen about him.
At the time I asked Glen why he would show such interest in a 13- year-old and he said curiosity got the better of him.
Glen went to Centennial Park in Sydney's eastern suburbs to watch Kurtley play against Scots College.
What he saw was exceptional. Kurtley, playing in the Joeys 14-As, cut the opposition to shreds and, with his ability to take the ball to the line and put players into space, he looked years above his age.
Then when he wanted to run with the ball, a simple step off either foot with a natural push on the accelerator helped him to easily beat the opposition's defensive line.
After the game Glen approached the Joeys coach and asked why Kurtley was playing above his age because he thought it was school policy not to.
The coach said Kurtley was too good for his own age group. After watching him, Glen had to agree.
Kurtley was also a talented league player with Kensington in the South Sydney competition. I watched him play a grand final against Alexandria Rovers, in which his team was narrowly beaten. From my point of view, there were two outstanding players on the day, Kurtley and another Aboriginal kid, Michael Cummins, on the Rovers sidem who attends Waverley College in Sydney's eastern suburbs.
Glen has been a mentor to both for the past two years and is Beale's manager even though his responsibilities as assistant coach with the Wallabies took up most of his time.
Both players come from humble backgrounds and have needed assistance from friends and family to get into their respective schools. While it hasn't been an easy transition, they have settled into private school life and are reaping the benefits.
Kurtley has spent most of his upbringing in a working-class environment at Mt Druitt in Sydney's outer western suburbs with his grandparents, Ray and Norma, who have sacrificed a great deal.
I suppose not many of his classmates at St Joseph's College at Hunters Hill can fully understand what he has been through to reach such high achievements already in his short rugby career.
Potential is one thing, over-expectation another. Both Glen and I have never seen so much fuss over an up-and-coming player as we have with Kurtley. We must remember he is only 15 and, while he displays exceptional ability, he has a long way to go before he matures into a player ready for rugby's higher levels.
Although he is technically good in attack and defence, he still has a lot of rough edges to mould into shape. Brother Anthony Boyd, the First XV coach at St Joseph's, will ensure he keeps his feet on the ground.Watching St Joseph's play Riverview at Lane Cove last Saturday, it was obvious Kurtley has that something extra, something that can't easily be explained.
He drifted across the field in the style of Stephen Larkham, the outside backs ran the right angles and the gaps began to appear.
Kurtley reminds me of my brother Gary because he is of a similar build at the same age, but when he was cleaned up in a big tackle, he just bounced up like a rubber man.
Whether he is the next Ella, as some like to say, is another matter. Only time will tell.
__________________________________________
It must be the cynic in me...
Whilst the achievements of this wunderkid are to be applauded, does anyone else think that there's something whiffy about this article.
Hasn't Mark Ella, who only occasionally puts pen to paper for The Australian, got anything else to talk about during the lead-up to the second Test against Scotland?
Does anyone else think this is a fishing trip for sponsors for Beale? Read between the lines:
He's so good he could be the answer to the Waratah's problems, he's an outstanding player in both forms of rugby, so wherever he ends up he'll do well, he reminds people of Stephen Larkham with his ability and could be "the next Ella" to boot! Contact Ella Management and Events, we're in the white pages.
As I said, just being cynical.
Being serious for a moment, it's a great sign for the future. I hope he fulfils his potential and doesn't succumb to the weight of expectation. Elton Flatley was talked-up in a similar fashion as a schoolboy. Four years of First XV at Queensland's rugby nursery, Nudgee College and star performer in the Australian Schoolboys' tour of the UK. It's taken him a long time to live up to his billing and only now is he hitting his straps.
