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On track for the Kurtley Express
Sunday, December 3, 2006, Rugby Heaven/SMH
Kurtley Beale faces a character-building exercise before he even gets to training with the Waratahs, Daniel Lane writes.
The hype surrounding Kurtley Beale's arrival to rugby union's big time has overshadowed the way he's been arriving at Waratahs training.
Beale, the 17-year-old described as rugby's next superstar, is using the transport used by thousands of other apprentices - train and bus.
He captained the Australian Schoolboys team a few weeks ago and was at one stage touted as a candidate to tour Europe with the Wallabies, but now he's dealing with reality.
That means setting his alarm for 5am every day, packing the tools of his trade into his kitbag - boots, runners, socks, shorts, training shirt - and hopping on the 7.31am express from Mount Druitt to Central before catching a bus to Moore Park.
Beale passes the expensive cars that belong to his NSW teammates as he crosses the Aussie Stadium car park, but the least of the teenager's concerns is a set of wheels. He's preoccupied with all things rugby.
"The train isn't too bad," he said. "I've settled into the routine fine and it gets me to training on time. I see the same faces doing exactly what I'm doing, they're going to work.
"Anyway, this is what I've been waiting for. While I enjoyed going to school at Joey's, I wanted to be free to join the outside world. It's laid-back and it's exciting . . . it's exactly what I wanted, so I'm not going to complain about the train."
Nevertheless, the three-hour round trip and tough training sessions are a far cry from the life he led a few weeks ago when he was a border at St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill. There, he seemed to have everything at his disposal. The gym was only a few metres from his dormitory, the cafe was close by, and the library and classrooms were all a short walk away.
"I think this is good for Kurtley," said Rob Horton, who manages him with Glen Ella. "He's moved back into his family home in the western suburbs but he's being made to be responsible by getting himself to training on time.
"And I'm sure by catching that train every morning he's going to have a greater appreciation for whatever comes his way."
Beale is also painfully aware now he has left school that he'll come under tight scrutiny from rugby fans well aware of his reputation.
Few have seen him play, but the media have documented the battle between the two rugby codes to recruit him, the fact he was signed to a Waratahs deal at 16, the effort by the Western Force to lure him to Perth and the anecdotes of how he amazed players such as Lote Tuqiri and Mat Rogers when he attended a skills session aged 15.
Yet, after his first four weeks as a Waratah - he's bidding to play in the five-eighth jumper - he's learnt the value of a good night's sleep.
"The intensity at training has been incredible," he said. "Physically, my body has been adapting to the tougher demands I've had to ask of it. It's a matter of having to lift to another level each week.
"I've put on one kilo - I'm 89kg now but the conditioning staff want me to play at 91, so we'll have to keep working hard. But what I'm focused on is doing the little things well."
Beale's first few weeks with the Waratahs have been frustrated by a slight groin problem but he seems to have adapted well to life as a professional footballer.
"I knew what to expect," he said. "When I was at school I trained with the squad once a week, so it's not as if everything has been a shock."