How Beale slotted the 'kick for the ages'
Tue, 07 Sep 2010 11:01
The kick that won the game. (c) Getty
Enigmatic Wallaby fullback Kurtley Beale does not strike one as a regular match-winning goalkicker. Yet, on Saturday he landed what is now being referred to as a 'kick for the ages'.
There is no doubting Beale's talents - after all, he was signed to the Waratahs at the age of 16 while still finishing his schooling at St Joseph's College.
Despite sometimes courting trouble off the field, Beale has often mesmerised opponents - and his teammates alike - on the field with his darting runs.
Primarily a flyhalf at the Waratahs in Super Rugby (but more of a fullback of late), Wallaby coach Robbie Deans has used him in the No.15 jersey to ensure his attacking prowess from deep can be utilised to the full.
However, few expected him to land the match-winning penalty, from over 50 metres out, against South Africa in Bloemfontein last Saturday - although there was a South African who knew the kick was well within Beale's capabilities.
Former Springbok ace Braam van Straaten - in his guise as Australia's kicking coach - spent just five days with Beale and turned him into a match-winner with some subtle changes to his approach.
Speaking to rugby365.com about his recent stint with the Wallabies - which has since landed him a full-time contract as Australia's kicking coach - Van Straaten said Beale was not a bad kicker.
"Kurtley had a minor problem with his body position and needed to attack the ball more," said Van Straaten, when asked about the changes he implement that resulted in that now famous kick in Bloemfontein.
"When we got his body position correct and, as I said, got his technique more compact, he struck the ball so much better.
"It was simply a matter of getting his lines right. "I think the five days I worked with them [the Wallabies] there was an incredible improvement with all six the kickers I worked with," Van Straaten told rugby365.com.
But it is the turnaround in Beale's kicking performance, in particular, that most impressed people - so much so that Australian Rugby Union Chief Executive John O'Neill described his match-winning effort as "one for the ages".
It was the first time in 47 years the Wallabies had managed to beat the Springboks on the Highveld and, not surprisingly, the Australians are now comparing this win to some of their most famous victories in recent memory.
There was John Eales's game-winning penalty in extra-time against the All Blacks in Wellington in 2000, which saw the Wallabies retain the Bledisloe Cup, before going on to win the Tri-Nations.
There was Stirling Mortlock's famous penalty from the sideline against South Africa in Durban in 2000 - which clinched Australia's first-ever Tri-Nations crown.
There was also Matthew Burke's effort - in 2002, when he kicked a penalty after full-time to win the Bledisloe Cup in windy conditions in Sydney.
Whichever famous Wallaby win you compare it to, Beale and his new kicking mentor, Van Straaten, will forever be remembered in the annals of the game for that match-winning effort in Bloemfontein.
By Jan de Koning
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