Michael Cheika put his money on Kurtley Beale and now we are really seeing it paying off for Australia. He lost Matt Giteau, he lost Matt Toomua – two players who can really influence a game – so Cheika identified Beale as his go-to man and he will be the key factor in Australia’s attacking structure on Saturday.
Off the field, it looks as if he has really turned himself around – it would be interesting to know how much of a role Cheika has played in that – but the coach definitely saw how well Beale was playing at Wasps, in a team playing some very good, expansive, wide channel rugby, and he invested a lot in bringing him back.
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