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Boy wonder Beale returns as a man
Glenn Jackson | November 6, 2007
On the day a Test and State of Origin rugby league player has his first run for his new team, it would take something sizeable to overshadow it. That something was a big and bearded Kurtley Beale, who showed off a bulkier new physique as the NSW Waratahs showed off their latest convert, Timana Tahu.
Beale has matured noticeably since he last wore Waratah sky blue, with even his coach Ewen McKenzie noticing the difference on day one of the 2008 Super 14 campaign.
"I remember 12 months ago, he was looking like a pimply schoolboy, and he literally ran out there and tore his groin at the first training session, probably because it was all new," McKenzie said. "[Yesterday] he turned up bigger, with a full beard. He's moved on. Twelve months is a long time."
In that time, Beale has put on six kilograms, having grown from a relatively slight 87kg to start this pre-season tipping the scales at 93kg. And sure enough, to match his new souped-up physique, big things are expected of the still 18-year-old Beale in season two of his Super 14 career.
After some eye-catching form in the inaugural Australian Rugby Championship for the Western Sydney Rams, which led to player-of-the-year honours (earning him a car which he cannot yet drive), Beale is in pole position to take the Waratahs' five-eighth position next year.
Despite missing out on a place in the Wallabies' World Cup squad to Berrick Barnes, Beale seemed to relish the rule changes trialled in the ARC, of which some are likely to appear during the Super 14, with McKenzie admitting he would be hard to go past for No.10 honours.
"He showed in the ARC that he's developed as a player," McKenzie said. "Week to week, he was a very influential player.
"Last year was probably the most up-and-down period of his whole career … but he's only just turned 18. He worked his way through that and, combined with his physical maturing, he's obviously in a better situation. After all, he's had 12 months as a professional player."
There's more reasons to be positive, too. McKenzie revealed that Tahu, who ran next to him during a half-hour drill at Moore Park, would act as mentor to Beale. Tahu is the fourth high-profile Waratahs signing in relatively quick succession, without the hype of Lote Tuqiri, Wendell Sailor and Mat Rogers but certainly not the promise. McKenzie said he saw no reason the former Parramatta centre could not be the most successful convert of the quartet.
Tahu is an immensely gifted player, whose career has been stalled somewhat by injuries. Even yesterday, he quit drills briefly to have work done on his back, maintaining afterwards "hamstring's still on bone". But last season, he was arguably in career-best form.
While Beale is not long out of school, Tahu said he felt like yesterday was his "first day of school". He has not read a rugby rule book yet, but added: "I've been watching heaps of games. I've always watched union, ever since I was young, with my old man. I know how the game's played, so I think I'll get into it easy."
In an attempt to ease him into the code, McKenzie said he would likely begin Tahu's time as a Tah at inside-centre, thereby making him cover less ground, with a view to switching him to outside-centre in the long term.
"He's got to work through this transition period," he said. "There's bits and pieces he's got to learn. But I think he'll be quick on the uptake. He'll make his presence felt. There's no doubt about that.
"I think he's an athlete but I think he's a natural footballer as well. I think he'll pick things up very quickly. I'm not worried about that.
"He's got a union background, so it's not like it's completely unfamiliar. I think he'll pick up the nuances fairly quickly."
Some things will remain, however. Tahu, describing himself as a "private person", said he won't be seeking the limelight of the likes of Tuqiri, or even Beale.
"No studded earring," he said. "I'm happy behind them."
In a sizeable shadow.
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