Wallabies Stung by Beale WASPS Deal

Kurtley Beale has reportedly signed a deal with Wasps which will make him the highest paid player in England. Reports in The Times in London indicate Beale will become the biggest earner in English rugby after agreeing to a deal worth $A2.96 m (£1.5m).

The two-year deal, starting from next season, looms is a major blow for Australian rugby, with the 27-year-old utility back one of the country’s most exciting players. He has been in sparkling form for the NSW Waratahs in Super Rugby this season.

However, Beale’s 60 Test caps do mean he will be eligible to return and play for the Wallabies while playing club rugby abroad. Beale could be joined in England next season by fellow Wallaby back Quade Cooper, with a number of English club reportedly interested in the mercurial five-eighth, who has been out of favour at French club Toulon.

Waratahs captain Michael Hooper admits Beale will be impossible to replace, with his departure a massive blow for the 2014 Super Rugby champions. “You can’t replace Kurtley Beale,” Hooper said before the Waratahs’ captain’s run on Friday. “You get something different and that’s with rugby what we’ll be chasing.”

Hooper said he was gutted at the news, which caught him by surprise on Friday. “I’m happy for him as an individual. The ability to make those decisions is all part of rugby but, for me, selfishly it’s probably disappointing,” he said. “I love playing with Kurtley. I love having him in the environment here in the team but hopefully I’ll be able to play with him a lot more in the future.”

Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson was still holding out hope that the 27-year-old would stay in Sydney. “It’s unconfirmed,” he said. “Obviously for Kurtley it’s a big decision. He’s got to decide between staying in Australia and a really supportive environment or going overseas and playing his rugby over there. For us, we’d love him to stay. That hasn’t changed.”

“He’s been playing spectacularly well and I’m sure in his own mind he knows that it’s going to be a difficult decision for him. The fact the sun is shining, it’s a beautiful blue day here and he’s enjoying his rugby and, I guess for him, those decisions will weigh heavily on him.”

Related articles

• Cheika sticks up for under-fire Hooper
• NSW Waratahs winger Rob Horne thrilled to be back for Stormers duel in Cape Town
• Australia vs New Zealand: Taking a dive on the fiver
• Introducing Wallaby - Concurrent Feature Tests for Elixir and Phoenix
• Leicester's most far-flung fan? Lonely New Zealander nurtured on Shoot magazine
• 16 Ridiculously Adorable Animals Learning How To Walk

Brumbies Stand Down CEO Jones

Brumbies chief executive Michael Jones has been stood down by the Super Rugby club’s board following a radio interview in which he was critical of the club’s finances.

Jones’ standing down followed a surprise visit to Canberra by Australian rugby boss Bill Pulver on Monday, with Brumbies chairman Rob Kennedy informing the CEO of his decision hours later.

“It was with great regret that I informed Michael of the board’s decision,” Kennedy said in a statement on Monday night. “However, I believe this decision is in the best long term interest of the Brumbies.”

The club’s general manager of community rugby, Craig Leseberg, will take over as interim CEO, while it is still unclear whether Jones will fight or accept the decision.

Jones earned the ire of club and Australian rugby officials on Saturday, when he told ABC Grandstand he was concerned about the future of the club.

The Brumbies are currently under investigation by ACT Police, after Jones called on them to investigate a deal signed by previous club management with the University of Canberra.

“If the Brumbies cease to be an entity, which is one of the very foreseeable outcomes ... the ARU will be in default of the SANZAAR agreement, because they are required to field five teams every week,” Jones said on Saturday.

“And if this organisation folds and goes into administration the ARU is in default. They are big stakes games that a lot of these guys are playing, and its fairly irresponsible of most of them to do it.”

The Brumbies took a reported $1.68 million loss in 2015, and Jones also told the ABC they have made a profit just once in the past 11 years.

However, an ARU spokesman told News Corp Australia that the organisation would step in to save the club if required.

Related articles

• Brumbies won't sell intellectual property rights to ensure club controls destiny
• Players have Fiji at heart
• Super Rugby 2016: Ex-All Black Zac Guildford to debut, Israel Folau to fullback, for NSW Waratahs' Super Rugby opener against Queensland Reds
• Sport: Samoa A thrashed by Melbourne Rebels
• Can ref Joubert redeem himself?
• Rebles coach bullish after big trial win

Pocock Wins Australian Sports Personality

David Pocock’s emergence as one of the most-influential rugby players in the world has earned him the title of Australian sports personality of 2015.

The Wallabies and Brumbies back-rower was bestowed the honour, voted by the public, at the AIS Sport Performance Awards on Wednesday night in Sydney.

Pocock’s outstanding feats helped put Australia within reach of the World Cup title last year, after what was a remarkable Super Rugby season with the Brumbies. It followed two years of pain and intense rehabilitation on serious knee injuries.

“It felt like a long time on the sidelines,” Pocock said after thanking his family, friends, team-mates and support staff in a video message. “It was a really enjoyable year last year and I had a lot of support from a number of people after a couple of years out.

“The goal was just to enjoy it and just to seek those little improvements every week and I think I did that. I think that was key for me.”

Pocock is off contract at the end of the season but is yet to announce his next move. There is speculation he could take a year off in 2017 to study in the UK.

The 27-year-old is widely admired for his work off the field, which he admits is a “bit of a juggling act” but essential. “It gives you a bit of a different headspace and a bit of time away from the game, which is really important to have that freshness and enjoyment when you do get down to training and playing,” he said.

Golfer Jason Day was awarded male athlete of the year after claiming his first major win at the 2015 US PGA Championship and elevation to world No1.

A dominant year in the pool earned swimmer Emily Seebohm the honour of female athlete of the year, while the Australian women’s netball team took out the publicly voted team of 2015.

The Diamonds, who won a third consecutive netball World Cup, also shared the team of the year award as chosen by an AIS panel of judges, alongside the Australian women’s cycling team pursuit who crushed the world record by almost three seconds at the 2015 track world championships.

Related articles

• Wallabies warrior Scott Fardy says unassuming mindset key to Brumbies title bid
• Waratahs win, Dennis concussed in trial
• Can ref Joubert redeem himself?
• Australia coach Michael Cheika in battle for David Pocock as Wasps prepare £1.4m offer
• Waratahs name Israel Folau for pre-season trial against Highlanders in Queenstown
• Players have Fiji at heart

Wallabies Worried as Pocock OxBridge Bound

David Pocock is expected to decide within the next 10 days whether to take a sabbatical from Australian rugby in 2017 to study.

The Brumbies back-rower is locked in an Australian Rugby Union contract until the end of this season, but is said to be weighing up a year-long move overseas to pursue interests outside of the game.

Pocock, the Wallabies’ best player at the 2015 World Cup, is currently in discussions with Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham and chief executive Michael Jones. Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has also reportedly been in Canberra to discuss the 27-year-old’s future.

“We acknowledge he’s probably one of the best players in the world and we want him at the Brumbies,” Jones told ABC Radio on Wednesday. 

“The problem is, the demand and the interest in David has skyrocketed.

“We’ve sort of had the first offer to him and a counter-offer back ... so I would say a week or 10 days and we should have it wrapped up hopefully.”

While not ideal in the Brumbies’ minds, allowing Pocock to attend Oxford or Cambridge University for a year would still give him two full Super Rugby seasons to prepare for the 2019 World Cup.

As well as being pursued by cashed-up Japanese and French clubs, he is also being touted as a possible replacement for Liam Gill at the Queensland Reds after the flanker announced a new deal with Toulon from 2017.

Pocock is currently studying for a Bachelor of Ecological Agricultural Systems degree, however he has not confirmed whether he will continue in this direction next year.

Jones said Pocock had for some time indicated interests beyond rugby but his rise to prominence at last year’s World Cup got him re-energised and excited about the game again.

“So I think he’s got a bit of a conflict within himself about where he’s going and what he’s doing,” added Jones.

Pocock is set to play in Friday’s trial match against the Queensland Reds at Ballymore, after being rested from last weekend’s trial loss to the NSW Waratahs in Wagga Wagga.

Related articles

• NSW Waratahs edge ACT Brumbies in Super Rugby pre-season trial at Wagga Wagga
• Waratahs win, Dennis concussed in trial
• Brumbies young guns Nick Jooste and Jordan Jackson-Hope impress in Super Rugby trial
• Re: EEVBlog BM235 Multimeter Dilemma
• BNZ Crusaders team named for pre-season game against Reds
• Goromaru embraces opportunity with Queensland Reds