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Beale lands himself in hot water again, the real reason behind his and Ashley-Cooper's Wallabies axing
By Chris Jones
Australia’s troubled season hit a new low today as it emerged that key players Kurtley Beale and Adam Ashley-Cooper were axed for the clash with England for inviting women back to their hotel after the 9-6 loss to Wales.
Both were expected to feature in the final match of a season that has seen head coach Michael Cheika under severe pressure but they were not included in the match squad to face England.
It has now been confirmed the pair were sanctioned after the breach of team protocol was raised by captain Michael Hooper and the leadership group including David Pocock, Allan Alaalatoa, Samu Kerevi and Nick Phipps. Wallabies coach Michael Cheika had made no mention of the breach when he named his side on Thursday.
Cheika said Beale’s absence was due to form, however, the Australian Daily Telegraph reported that Beale and Ashley-Cooper had invited three women back to their Cardiff hotel room a fortnight ago after Australia lost 9-6 to Wales.
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Watch: Wallabies coach Michael Cheika and Michael Hooper on player sanctions
Ashley-Cooper made his first start for Australia in more than two years against Italy last weekend and was expected to feature, along with Beale against England but neither player was named in the squad for the Twickenham match. Ashley-Cooper left the Waratahs in 2015 to join Bordeaux-Begles in the Top 14, before joining Japanese side Kobe Steelers in 2017.
Before Beale headed to England to join Wasps n 2016, he had a long list of off-the-field problems which came to head in March 2013 when Beale was fined AUS$40,000 and suspended following a punch up with Melbourne Rebels team mates Cooper Vuna and Gareth Delve.
He was suspended for a second time in seven weeks by the Rebels for breaking an alcohol ban, however, Beale was selected to play for Australia against the British and Irish Lions. A year later an ARU code of conduct inquiry found him guilty of a serious violation over an image and text he sent and was fined AUS$45,000. The charge followed a complaint from former Wallabies business manager Di Patston against Beale.
At the end of last season in England, Beale headed back to Australia to bid for a place in the Wallabies squad for next year’s World Cup in Japan.
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Latest Comments
Against England in particular I think this was tactical. They wanted to keep the ball in the middle of the park to split the rush defence either side of the breakdown and attack inside the shooter. Often times this meant pointless carries from side to side to ensure they stayed central.
The blitz D works best when the breakdown is on the sideline, the defenders don't have to make any reads because the ball can only go one way, and the whole line can sprint up and take away all the space. That's why teams that play this D leave space in the 15m wide channels and are happy to concede 10m+ of territory to force a breakdown there because they know the they can put max pressure on the next tackle.
Go to commentsI cannot agree with this. It's smoke and mirrors by Borthwick to mask the poor selection strategy for his bench and the poor perofrmance of those subs when brought on.
We are not losing these matches by miles because players are running out of puff. We are losing them by small margins because of a shockingl poor defensive system adn some careless errors.
And if we are running out of puff, it might also have something to do with our continuous blitzing at breakneck speed like headless chickens - withotu ever pausing for breath
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