Kurtley Beale on his return to Wallabies fold aged 37: ‘There was some unfinished business’

Veteran playmaker has been recalled to Australia’s squad for the Nations Championship rugby Tests after a ‘rollercoaster’ few years

Rugby Australia have been open about their ambition to revive union’s golden past at next year’s men’s World Cup. Wallabies coach Les Kiss appears to have taken it literally.

His recall of Kurtley Beale, who turns 38 in January, for the Nations Championship this month is the final sweep in the playmaker’s staggering story arc. One that began with birth in Blacktown in the late 1980s, through a childhood in Mount Druitt, that loops through his private high schooling and debut for the Waratahs in – check that date – 2007. The ensuing two decades? We’ll get to that.