2008 Match Day Programs - Kurtley Beale
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Question & Answer: Kurtley beale
the real beale
Match: HSBC Waratahs v Blues
Date: April 5, 2008
Interview: BEN KIMBER
Images: GETTY IMAGES
DOWNLOAD as a PDF (800kb)
THE spotlight may have sharpened on Kurtley Beale since his Super 14 debut last year, but if ever a player has had some time to become accustomed to it, it’s the NSW flyhalf.
The young former St Joseph’s College pivot arrived in a Waratahs jersey last season via almost five years of propaganda, with year upon year of media focus and public speculation surrounding the talent encased in his slender schoolboy frame.
Would he finally be the man to take control of the troublesome No.10 jersey for NSW? Could the Waratahs finally unearth a pivot who could lead them to Super Rugby glory? Would this slight young kid handle the pressure of rugby at its most brutal?
Just over one year on, Kurtley is still there and still the centre of attention, so Waratahs Match Program spoke to the 19 year-old to find out how he’s settled in ...
WARATAHS MATCH PROGRAM: The hype was whether you were ready for Super 14 straight out of school, so what sort of impact has more than a year of professional Rugby had?
KURTLEY BEALE: It’s had a big impact on me, it’s been huge actually. I really bulked up and put on weight over the last year and now I probably want to drop a bit of weight and go the other way, maybe drop two or three kilos and stay down around that 92 or 93 kilo range.
WMP: Why do you want to lose weight?
KB: I just find that I’m not maybe too big, but it’s just that bit heavier than I’d like to be. I really notice that maybe I’m not as explosive as I used to be and I don’t feel like I have the same kind of balance in my game. I feel like I need to improve still but I want to make sure I’m at the right weight to make sure I can match it with all the boys you come up against and be as good as I can be.
WMP: Coming in straight from school, into the No.10 NSW jersey with its chequered history, has the pressure been constant?
KB: I reckon it’s always there, and it always will be there. I just have to get used to it as well as I can, and I have gotten used to it a bit. I’ve had to learn to accept it and just forget it and concentrate on my game.
WMP: Do you think you’ve had more pressure than other players coming into the side because of the No.10 jersey?
KB: I definitely feel different with a huge amount of pressure there. It’s a very different sort of role because you come into the side and straight away out there on the field you’ve got big forwards, guys like Rocky Elsom and Dan Vickerman who are team leaders and know what they’re doing, and they’re saying to you out there “We need direction, we need direction”. Which is full on but it’s good as well. I’ve had to adjust to controlling a game at that level, knowing when to up the tempo or when to settle things down, how to handle those different situations where I have to control the game. But it’s good to be out there. This is where you want to be, and I want to play an up tempo game so it’s good to be there.
WMP: Is there off field pressure as well? Do you feel as if you need to be a role model for the Aboriginal community?
KB: A little bit I suppose, not really pressure, but I didn’t really expect anything like that, and that’s okay because if I play really good footy then the rest will just come into line. I definitely didn’t go out there thinking that was something I would like to do or anything, but I do head to Mount Druitt and get out and about and pass the ball around with the boys and girls out there and stuff. It’s nothing serious or anything but I do enjoy that kind of thing so I’d definitely love to get out there and help out a bit more if I can. There’s definitely that kind of feeling. I suppose it’s kind of like Anthony Mundine being just out there, because I don’t think he planned to sort of say ‘Hey everyone follow me’, I don’t think that’s his personality or anything like that.
WMP: How have you found the ELVs affecting the game?
KB: I think those law changes have definitely allowed players to run into more open space, we just haven’t really used them properly yet. We did a bit in the first half against the Cheetahs a bit, but I really think that when we get it right we’ll have a huge advantage when we get the ball out to guys like Lachlan Turner or Lote on the wings, the guys with speed to burn. I think there’ll especially be more things we can do around the set piece or with the five metre rule off the scrum. I think everyone can see the advantages of the laws are there, we just haven’t grabbed them. We have to pull our fingers out and open our eyes more.
WMP: What do you think about Robbie Deans as Wallabies coach?
KB: I think that’s great, I think it will definitely mean a different style of game. I think it will definitely mean a more expansive game, and that’s great because we’ll really utilise our fast backs like the Lote Tuqiris and the Chris Lathams. I think all of Australia is expecting something different, including the players.
WMP: What about the constant rumours about you and rugby league, is that a solid goal for one day?
KB: I really don’t want to make a huge thing out of this, I just want to concentrate on union and see how I go. I just want to get a Wallaby jersey. Maybe I’ll go across to league one day, but I’m not thinking too much about it right now.
WMP: At NSW, which players have you learned the most from so far?
KB: You don’t really have deep conversations, you just listen to guys and have a yarn and you pick up heaps. Especially from a guy like Rocky Elsom, you build up a great friendship as you go along and you really learn from the experience. He’s a really good bloke. And you learn things you don’t expect or think about, like the other day we were at a HSBC lunch, and I didn’t have any idea about how these things go, things like looking after your money and that sort of thing. Guys like Rocky who’ve been around for a while make it look easy, and you learn how to be more professional. And it comes out in a lot of ways from these guys, you learn to present yourself well, speak well and just about responsibility.
TEN ON THE SIDE
- If I wasn’t a Rugby player I’d be … out there looking for a job.
- My mates think I look like … Ricky Walford
- I think … Will Caldwell … is funny because … he’s definitely out there.
- The best game I’ve seen is … the State of Origin in 2004 when Brad Fittler came out of retirement and scored the winning try.
- The last book I read was … I don’t read books.
- In 20 years time I’d like to be … sitting in a beautiful house on the beach taking it easy.
- I couldn’t live without …my Foxtel and my iPod Touch
- My worst habit is … I’m untidy around the house and pretty much everywhere else.
- You wouldn’t know it but I’m good at … tennis, I do all my work from the baseline!
- The non-sportsman I would most like to put a big hit on is … Brumby Jack, he’s got nothing on Visy Tah Man