Kurtley Beale makes emotional speech after Force’s triumph over Crusaders

RUGBY WALLABIES TRAINING

Kurtley Beale’s emotions got the better of him when he addressed his Western Force team-mates after playing a leading role in their 37-15 victory over the Crusaders on Saturday.

Beale was presented with his first Western Force cap and then made a speech but his voiced cracked with emotion as he thanked the Perth-based club for giving him an opportunity to resume his career.

“Wow, this is pretty emotional for me,” Beale said after receiving his maiden cap and a hug from Force head coach Simon Cron in the HBF Park changing rooms.

Long wait to return to action

“I’ve been out of the game for a year and a bit. I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for a long, long time and I’m just so glad that it’s with a great club like the Force and with a great bunch of men like you blokes.

“It’s just awesome to be a part of the group and thank you to the club for welcoming my family. We absolutely love it here and we’re looking forward to adding to the club and to the group and hopefully make a special season.

“So thank you.”

The 35-year-old was recently found not guilty of raping a woman in the toilets of a Sydney bar in December 2022.

Due to his involvement in that court case, Beale was out of action for 14 months as he was suspended from playing the game which meant he missed out on representing Australia at his fourth Rugby World Cup.

Wallabies half-backs inspire Western Force to first win over Crusaders in 11 years

After being cleared of wrongdoing in his court case in February, the 95-Test Wallaby returned to action for Sydney club Randwick before signing a deal until the end of the Super Rugby Pacific season with the Force earlier this month.

Cron put Beale into the Force’s starting line-up at full-back and he came to the fore with a polished performance to help the Perth-based outfit register their first win over the Crusaders in 11 years.

The result means the Force and Crusaders swap places in the standings with the men from Perth moving up into 11th spot while the defending champions are now rooted to the bottom of the table.

Force captain Nic White hailed Beale for his influence on the team’s fly-half, Ben Donaldson, who had an excellent game as he finished with a 17-point contribution courtesy of five penalties and a conversion.

Plenty of credit for Beale

“I’m going to give a lot of credit to that to KB,” White told Stan Sport.

“The voice KB brought as soon as he came in – it would have been easy to come in and stay quiet, he’s new to this system.

“But he stepped straight in to being a real leader and a guy who benefited from that voice is Donno.”