Master v apprentice as Carter faces Beale

WHEN Robbie Deans first sighted Kurtley Beale in the flesh, during last year's Waratahs-Crusaders trial match in Sydney, he described the NSW five-eighth as an "excitement machine".

After that encounter, Beale's form fluctuated and he eventually lost his Waratahs spot, but by the end of the season, via the short-lived Australian Rugby Championship, in which he won the player-of-the-series award, he had reconfirmed his status as one of the next-best. Even NSW coach Ewen McKenzie conceded this week that Beale's debut as an 18-year-old in last year's Super 14 may have been "too early".

But this is the season all at the Waratahs believe Beale will bloom, with an announcement expected this week that he will ignore several league offers and remain with NSW on a long-term contract.

Beale missed out on Wallabies World Cup selection, but those on the other side of the Tasman look upon him as being green-and-gold bound. Deans will have a lot to do with that coming to fruition when he takes over as Wallabies coach in June, and the world's premier No.10, Daniel Carter, also believes Beale has a bright future.

Carter has yet to play against Beale. He missed last year's trial because of All Blacks coach Graham Henry's decision to cotton wool his leading players for the World Cup, and then their Super 14 fixture because of a neck complaint.

Their first on-field encounter will be tonight when the Crusaders play the Waratahs in the Rotomahana Challenge at the Sydney Football Stadium, and the All Blacks five-eighth has already seen enough videos to know that the man opposite him will be something special.

"He [Beale] has a lot of talent and, with more experience, he will get more consistency to his game and be a quality player," Carter said yesterday.

And not even the presence of Carter should daunt the Waratahs playmaker, even if his performance tonight is expected to confirm whether he will be the regular NSW No.10 this year or, as in last season, have to share it.

"With these pre-season games, you try to achieve certain things," Carter said. "You're not really worried about the opposition. I'm sure he won't be worried. Being a young guy and with the talent he's got, he will be looking to have a bit of a crack. He is an extremely skilful player and a really good runner of the ball, so he's not going to be moving away from that."

Carter also conceded that Beale had had a more difficult initiation than he had when he began as a 20-year-old with the Crusaders in 2003.

He explained that he was "quite lucky" that for his first two seasons, he had alongside him in the Crusaders back line such notable All Blacks as Justin Marshall, Andrew Mehrtens and Aaron Mauger to tutor and protect him. Beale hasn't been so fortunate with the Waratahs, as he soon discovered that enormous responsibility came early.

"Your second year [in the Super 14] was almost tougher than your first, because oppositions knew who you were, and they had analysed you," Carter said. "It was probably not until my third year when I felt a lot more comfortable, could go out there and concentrate on my game."

"He [Beale] would have learnt a lot from last year, especially as he was thrown in amongst it at such a young age. But it's not easy."

At least the experimental laws should help, as five-eighths are expected to have more space.

As Carter explained: "It is a lot more free-flowing, with the ball being in play a lot more, while the use of free kicks speeds the game up a lot. With the back line being back five metres from a scrum, to a certain extent it is pretty similar to league.

"As a back line you do have room to really set up plays and create moves, rather than having the defence being right up in your face. So I'm looking forward to playing my first game under them."