Beale back on the right track
November 23 2008
Not many will know this, given he hasn't spoken about it before, but Waratahs fly-half Kurtley Beale almost went off the rails whilst injured earlier this year.
Having torn ankle ligaments in the Super 14 Final the 19-year-old fly-half was restricted to training on an indoor bike, and soon became frustrated. When he then broke his thumb doing weights he admitted he almost went off the rails.
He lost focus on his diet and saw his weight balloon to 101kg, and but for a major dressing down from Waratahs assistant coach Scott Wisemantel he may have lost focus altogether, swearing off alcohol and junk food in a bid to save himself.
"I didn't touch a ball there for about three months so it was pretty hard to come to training," Beale told Fox Sports.
"All I could do was sit there on the rehab bike day after day and just pedal. There's plenty of people who've done it tougher, but I just got really down.
"Then I broke my thumb doing weights at training and I really started to lose it.
"I went off track a bit. I had to try and seek some advice to get myself back into the right routine and headed in the right direction.
"For two or three months there I wasn't really focused or professional about the way I was approaching things. I was a bit lost and, to be honest, it was pretty daunting. But looking back it was a good experience.
"I've got to get back into condition. I've been eating the wrong food and I'm sure having a few beers didn't really help."
Beale has been under pressure in pre-season from Daniel Halangahu, and the extra competition has helped him push that much harder in a bid to get back to his best.
Waratahs coach Chris Hickey praised Beale's application since returning to pre-season training.
"It's been a bit of a tough six months for KB," Hickey said.
"He injured his ankle in the Super 14 final and then just as it started to come good he broke his thumb.
"As a player, those things can be hard to deal with. Since we've been back into the pre-season program he's been working really hard."
Beale has managed to shed 2kg since returning to training and plans to trim down further to be at 95kg for the start of the season.
"I'm pumped now," he said.
"I'm back into my routine and my rhythm.
"I've set small goals for myself and I'm determined to put in."