Beale gets his chance for Australia

Australia coach Robbie Deans admits Kurtley Beale’s pending court appearance influenced the selectors’ decision to hand the talented utility his first Test start against Fiji in Canberra on Saturday.

Beale will appear in Mt Druitt Local Court on Monday to answer a common assault charge stemming from an alleged incident at a family gathering last July.

The 21-year-old, who earned his Test debut off the bench against Wales last November, was named at full-back in a new-look Wallabies back-line yesterday.

The Waratahs star was among the form players of the Super 14 competition in the back half of season after warming the bench in the early rounds.

But Deans revealed form was not the only reason for his inclusion in the Test team, with his pending court appearance making it virtually impossible for Beale to line up for the second string Australian Barbarians in next Tuesday’s clash against England in Perth.

“Kurtley’s got a court case next Monday... and we were keen to get him under way and that was going to make it difficult in terms of the Tuesday fixture,” Deans explained.

“So we made the conscious decision to give him a start which he’s earned through his performances.”

Beale’s surprise selection sees the versatile Adam Ashley-Cooper shift to the wing, while the inclusion of Waratahs youngster Rob Horne at outside centre sees Digby Ioane move onto the other wing.

A knee injury to scrum-half Will Genia sees Luke Burgess earn a rare start in the number nine jumper, while Deans has handed Reds playmaker Quade Cooper a first crack at the fly-half role, with Matt Giteau shifting to inside centre.

Deans played down the significance of the positional switch in the midfield but admits Cooper’s scintillating form for the Reds was impossible to ignore.

“Quade’s earned the right. He’s played so well in that position,” Deans said.

“I don’t know that he’d be that conscious about the number on his back. He’d be more conscious about what’s in front of him in the game, but that’s the way they start this week.”

Giteau, who has made his preference for the number 10 jumper abundantly clear in recent times, insists he is comfortable with the change.

“For me I feel really comfortable the way it is and hopefully Quade feels the same,” Giteau said.

“Obviously Quade’s been in some red-hot form, so it will be good running off him.

“My role now is to try to take as much pressure off Quade.

“It’s very exciting. Not just the back-line but the whole side, everyone offers something different. Everyone is confident, everyone’s enthusiastic and they want to play, so it’s exciting.

“And within that I want to fit into the team framework wherever I can and hopefully Quade will give me a few tries.”

Cooper added: “Just to have Gits outside you, he’s a special player so I’ll be relishing the opportunity. I’m not too bothered (what position I play) – you just enjoy being out on the field.

“It’s a number on your back. There’s 15 guys out on the field trying to do a job and that’s to win the game.”