Racing 92 confirm signing of veteran Wallabies star Kurtley Beale
French glamour club Racing 92 have confirmed the signing of veteran Wallabies utility back Kurtley Beale on a two-year deal.
The 31-year-old’s addition to the squad was announced by the club’s sporting director and former France flanker Yannick Nyanga in a video released on Monday.
Capable of playing at flyhalf, in the midfield and at fullback, Beale will depart Australia with a wealth of experience after having amassed 92 caps for the Wallabies since 2009.
He has also played in over 150 Super Rugby matches for the Melbourne Rebels and the Waratahs, the club of which he is currently vice-captain of and has played well over 100 times for since his professional debut 13 years ago.
By virtue of having played in more than 60 tests for the Wallabies and being based in Australia for more than seven years, Beale will remain eligible for international selection despite his relocation to France.
Whether or not incoming Wallabies head coach Dave Rennie will opt to select the seasoned playmaker is another question entirely, however, as the prospect of overhauling the Australian squad must be a top priority for the former Chiefs boss.
That may involve parting ways with Beale, who has been an established figure within the national setup for well over a decade now and has attended the past three World Cups in New Zealand, England and Japan.
Should Rennie look to retain Beale’s services, though, he could be viewed as a safe pair of hands with an impressive curriculum vitae to boot.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CAEFXFng5zX/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
This isn’t Beale’s first foray into European club rugby, as he joined English Premiership side Wasps on a one-season deal for the 2016-17 campaign, helping them to a semi-final finish domestically and a quarter-final finish in the Champions Cup.
He leaves the Waratahs with one Super Rugby title to his name after he played a key role in their maiden championship in 2014.
Racing’s acquisition of Beale only adds to their star-studded squad which already features the likes of French stars Virimi Vakatawa, Teddy Thomas and Camille Chat, as well as foreigners Finn Russell, Simon Zebo and Juan Imhoff.
Beale will also be joined by six-test Wallabies utility forward Luke Jones, who will leave the Melbourne Rebels for a second stint in France following his three-year spell with Bordeaux between 2016 and 2019.
“We’ve tried to mix youth and experience in positions where we haven’t managed to pull through from our academy,” Nyanga said in the video announcement released on Racing’s social media channels.
“We have two premium signings who will bring some experience and their ability,” he added.
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Laurent Travers accompagné de Yannick Nyanga & Christophe Mombet reviennent sur la saison terminée et se projettent sur la saison à venir.#RacingFamily
https://t.co/k3F4frbyMP— Racing 92 (@racing92) May 11, 2020
The signings of Beale and Jones will help offset the departures of fullback Brice Dulin, flyhalf Ben Volavola, and props Ben Tameifuna and Vasil Kakovin, which were also confirmed in Monday’s video.
Additionally, former All Blacks loose forward Chris Masoe will leave his post as defence coach, and will be replaced by ex-France hooker Dimitri Szarzewski.
Racing 92 were performing admirably in the Top 14 until the 2019-20 season was cancelled last week due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, sitting in third spot after 17 matches.
The Paris-based club have also qualified for for the European Champions Cup quarter-finals and are due to clash with fellow French giants Clermont in a fixture set to take place when the tournament’s suspension is lifted.
Comments on RugbyPass
The best outside centre in the world at one point. He will be greatly missed.
2 Go to commentsYip his great for the big moments when needed as a safa really enjoy watching him
4 Go to commentsOne that will start to come up from now on is penalties for back pushes during kick chase scrambles. Very difficult to detect. In Croke Park if you replay the Hendy NH try, you will see Furbank push Porter in the back, who collides with Larmour knocking the ball across into Hendy’s path to dot down. A more significant example was in the RWC QTR final where Arendse pushes Fickou into two other French players for the ball to spill into Arendse’s path for him to gather and run in to score SAs first try. Not cheating if you are not caught and very difficult to spot but with kicking becoming so critical I feel its an area that will referreeed/TMO-ed more.
3 Go to commentsWhat a pathetic little twit Andy Goode is, as if we care what he thinks…..😂
114 Go to commentsFoxy has been a wonderful player for the Scarlets and Wales.
2 Go to commentsNika the Georgian is the best referee in the world at the moment. Luckily we will be spared the shite SH refs and Barnes will hopefully remain retired given how shite and embarrassing he was at the RWC.
3 Go to commentsThis is the most exciting game of the summer imo, as we really won’t know in advance how both teams are going to play. - Will Robertson just reproduce his Crusaders tactics from last year, or will there be a conscious effort to borrow from the Hurricanes and Blues, and from the aspects of the ABs world cup strategy that worked well? - England under Borthwick have put in some good performances playing attacking rugby, and some good performances playing kick-oriented defensive rugby. Will Borthwick try to merge them together into a single all-court game, or will he continue switching between different approaches depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition?
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
9 Go to commentsFinals are always tense affairs for the players so I do not expect this to be a spectacle of running rugby unfortunately.
3 Go to commentsBulls***': Ex-England international calls out Eben Etzebeth… Not to his face but from very far away… after he’d left. Checked to make sure he wasn’t in the building.
114 Go to commentsHopefully this will mean a new Auckland league team to support in the west. Big Warriors fan but it’s very, very stale on that front and I’d like the option of another team if it was to watch league again. League needs to step up BIG time if its to get anywhere, another AK team and something from the capitol or south is a must for the game.
3 Go to commentsGood, deep interview, nice job Frankie!
1 Go to commentsNRL players don’t have anywhere near the number of Tests. Some people would be happy having Rest Homes full if 40 yo ex-players walking, or hobbling more like it, into walls. It’s just a game!
4 Go to commentsNOW Razor is worried about ABs getting injured or overplayed! Didn’t bother him last year. He happily played his AB Crusaders.
4 Go to commentsWhat is the World Rugby U20 players born year.
2 Go to commentsMuch like the Chiefs finally gave up waiting for Atu Moli to ever not be injured, you have to wonder if the Chiefs and Crusaders will let Josh Lord and Ethan Blackadder go next season. They’re being well paid to sit in the injury ward every year. Better off putting those funds towards someone who might actually play.
7 Go to commentsShowed better basic skills than some nz Super sides, who probably would have botched some of those backline moves. This tournament really is too short though. Needs more teams, or have them play two rounds to properly prepare them for the near full-time NH U20 sides.
4 Go to commentsGood grief it’s only six months. Probably just upset it’s not an established kiwi entering their prime they can “project” into green to join the rest.
3 Go to commentsGood player but far from being best in the world. That's an exaggeration. Perhaps Best in world by Northern Hemisphere standards and biasis but certainly not Southern Hemi standards
4 Go to comments