Kurtley Beale eager to make Wallabies return

Utility back Kurtley Beale has confirmed that he is fit enough to take the field on Saturday when Wallabies meet All Blacks in the Rugby Championship opener in Sydney.

Beale's last appearance for Australia came almost two years back with a patella tendon injury bringing an early end to his original contract with Waratahs during the 2015/16 season. Beale decided to move to English Premiership club Wasps for a reported £750,000 last season and decided to return back to Australia in a bid to prolong his international career.

The former Rebels star suffered a hamstring injury during the semi-final of the Aviva Premiership but has confirmed that he is ready for the opening contest of Bledisloe Cup 2017.

"Obviously the body hasn't been playing for a bit, so training's been pretty good. I feel pretty good for Saturday,” he told the Australian Rugby Union's official website.

Michael Hooper has taken over the reins of the Wallabies from Stephen Moore, who is set to retire at the end of the year and Beale, who now is assigned with the task of guiding a young yet talented team is looking forward to the challenge.

"There's a bit of responsibility there to help these young guys come through and help them out in their preparation and in their mindset to tackle the week," explained Beale.

"At the end of the day we're all the same players, we're all wanting the one thing and that balance is certainly there and it's brewing very well so we've just got to keep backing each other, keep growing as a group."

Meanwhile, Israel Folau, who had a number of successful partnerships with Beale for Australia and Waratahs is pleased with the 28-year-old's return as they bid to claim the Bledisloe Cup for the first time since 2002.

“I've been looking forward to KB's return for a long time,” he added.

“It's exciting for him to be back in the Wallaby environment.

“All the guys are excited and hopefully I get that opportunity to play alongside KB at the weekend.

“We're always confident, we always back each other up.

“We've been playing with KB the last couple of years so I think we've got a great combination.”