Beale pulls out of captain's run

Editor

The Waratahs were dealt a scare on the eve of the Super Rugby final when Kurtley Beale was forced out of their final training session.

The Waratahs were dealt a scare on the eve of the 2014 Super Rugby final when playmaker Kurtley Beale was forced out of their final training session with a shoulder problem.

The Wallaby international required treatment and had to pull out of the captain's run at the Allianz Stadium a day before the clash with the Crusaders.

However Waratahs coach Michael Cheika insists there is nothing to worry about and that Beale will be firing on all cylinders in the final.

Beale has been named at inside centre for the game at ANZ Stadium, continuing his partnership with fly-half Bernard Foley.

And Cheika is so confident in Beale's fitness that he has not even put any centre cover on the bench, with just two three-quarters among the replacements, scrum-half Brendan McKibbin and winger Peter Betham.

If Beale were to go down injured, Rob Horne would likely move into the centres from the wing, with Betham taking his place.

Beale has been outstanding for the Waratahs so far this season, and second row Jacques Potgieter has revealed how impressed he has been since arriving in Sydney at the start of the season.

“I think Kurtley is the best rugby player I've ever played with and the best I ever will play with,” Potgieter told the Sydney Morning Herald.

“The best of the best. When he gets the ball it is like in slow motion, he has got so much time with the ball. And the thing he has taught me is that he always backs himself.”

Waratahs skipper Michael Hooper brushed aside comments by Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder suggestion the 'Tahs were giving up their home-ground advantage by hosting the final at ANZ Stadium.

''We've had captain's runs here all year so there's nothing new there,'' he said.

''We've already got more fans (coming) than we could have here. It would be over capacity here.

''So more people getting to experience the game, experience this unique experience – the fact we've never had a final here – it's fantastic.

''We've won two out of two there, and two tough games in the Reds and the Brumbies.

''We've done really well here, but we've also done really well out at ANZ.

''It's great that there's a Bledisloe in two weeks. It's back out there, so for fans of rugby it's fantastic, especially NSW.''