Wallabies coach Robbie Deans urges Kurtley Beale to find playing balance
That's the advice of Wallabies coach Robbie Deans to risk-taking fullback Kurtley Beale, who despite still being "not the Kurtley we know", is in line for a recall to the starting side on Saturday.
An injury to Drew Mitchell has opened a vacancy in the Wallabies back-three against the Springboks in Perth, with Beale returning to fullback and Adam Ashley-Cooper reverting to wing the likeliest of scenarios.
It is not the simple lock-in it might once have been, however, following Beale's swift fall from grace after his Sydney shocker, where he was labelled "out of sorts" and "lacking confidence" by Deans.
Deans said yesterday Beale had improved in the weeks since, playing solidly enough off the bench in Auckland
before diving into some hard fitness training last week.
But while not convinced Beale is back to peak mental and physical condition, Deans appears to be leaning towards returning him to the side above blooding uncapped wing options Dom Shipperley or Nick Cummins against the Boks.
"He's better but he's still not where he can be. I know he is working hard off the field at getting into the right sort of shape, with his body first. And the mind tends to follow the body," Deans said.
"We expect him to go from strength to strength. He is not the Kurtley we know, but he is more than capable and he is very committed to getting back to that state.
"He obviously didn't enjoy his experiences in the Sydney Test, and he doesn't want to go back there. If he committed to that end in mind, then he'll get it done.
"When he is brimming full of confidence and playing to his capabilities, he is probably one of the first men picked. He is working hard to get to that state."
Just where Beale's confidence has gone, in the mind of Deans, remains unspecified.
After moving to Melbourne this season, the 2011 John Eales medallist struggled with injury and perhaps the expectation of being the Rebels' highly paid go-to man.
Deans indicated Beale's road to recovering his world-XV form was learning to understand sometimes prioritising the mundane over the magic in order to do the right thing by his teammates.
"Every player aspires to players who others can rely on. Kurtley has got the capability to be even more than that," Deans said.
"Part of learning that role is understanding blokes like Kurtley have x-factor, and when to use it and when not to, is a big part of the discipline. Not chasing that fix of trying to be everything to everyone, all the time.
"He is a bloke who likes to win and be integral to that process, but sometimes brilliance is simply doing your job.
"Sometimes brilliance is simply being in the right place and doing what is outwardly a mundane task, but someone has got to do it."
Deans' comments gave some weight to talk out of the Wallabies camp that several young bucks are unhappy with his structured game plans and straining against the leash.
But the Wallabies coach again defended Beale and other Wallabies, however, from allegations of apathy after being criticised for smiling and joking with All Blacks straight after the game at Eden Park.
"It is an easy go-to for people who aren't happy, obviously. I would suggest the body languages probably havent changed with any opponent, at any time," Deans said.
"The change was the result of the day and the emotion that surrounded that. People tend to pick out things that aggravate them further.
"They respect their opposition and know them away from the game, they know them as people.
"There is nothing wrong with that. You could see within the game, while they're not happy with the result.
"There was effort in there, there was attitude in there."
