Australia's Bledisloe Cup hopes nosedived after the Super 14 final, writes Phil Wilkins.
Somewhere in the turmoil between the half-century hell of the Wallabies' Test defeat in Johannesburg and the personal anguish of their Bledisloe Cup loss to his native New Zealand in Brisbane, coach Robbie Deans thought about Kurtley Beale.
At 19 years of age, too young, gifted and possessing too much derring-do to be daunted, Beale might have meant the difference between losing the Cup and winning the entire rugby tournament.
The momentous challenge would not have been lost on Beale, but neither would it have overwhelmed him.
When inside-centre Berrick Barnes and lineout ace Dan Vickerman trudged off with serious shoulder injuries in last month's Durban Test, Australia's Tri Nations ambitions dived.
The days between the Wallabies' last two Tests were spent agonising over one major issue - where in Australia was a replacement inside-centre for Barnes? Was there no one, with the Timana Tahu experiment in limbo after less than an hour?
There was, of course, a world-class inside-centre in Matt Giteau. How much simpler would it have been for Deans to run Beale onto Ellis Park in Johannesburg, the ground at which he made his Super 14 debut for the NSW Waratahs last year, igniting a sparkling senior career for a young pivot who is now a trusted hand after two representative winters?
Giteau is a game-breaker more than a play-maker, a superb runner with speed and acceleration to pierce any armour-plated defence. After playing halfback, five-eighth and inside-centre, his best position remains in midfield.
Inside-centre is the white-hot pressure point of the back line, more so than at five-eighth, where the pivot can at least find a degree of cover behind his pack. Giteau's dexterity and durability enable him to handle inside-centre with distinction.
Rather than switch an internationally accomplished outside-centre in Stirling Mortlock to inside-centre - a move Deans would have made with great reluctance and sense of foreboding - he could have utilised players in specialist positions, with Sam Cordingley and Beale the new halfback pairing and Giteau and Mortlock restored as the centres.
Certainly, introducing Beale would have been a bold move, but Deans is a coach who knows the character and quality of his men and is certainly aware of Beale's talent. If Deans needed Beale in the high altitude, high-stakes game of Johannesburg, he wanted him even more in Brisbane, where beating the All Blacks for the Bledisloe Cup would have been as sweet as winning the World Cup for a coach snubbed by his own New Zealand Rugby Union.
Amid all this, Beale was watching proceedings from the comfort of his Sydney lounge room. Trace it all back to the Super 14 final in Christchurch, where the Crusaders were seeking to give Deans a suitable farewell before his departure for Australia.
And attribute Beale's absence essentially to one man - lock Brad Thorn. Thorn by name, Thorn by nature.
Beale was responsible for Lachlan Turner's opening try with his cross kick to the wing, and was guiding the Waratahs astutely for them to lead, 12-11, at half-time.
Moments after crossing the line only to have the try disallowed, Beale was hit fair and square in a crushing tackle by Crusaders tough nut Thorn. Beale got up limping and trudged off in the 57th minute. It had a massive influence on the outcome as the Crusaders ran out 20-12 winners.
Beale was still hindered weeks later and when he did make his return to the Waratahs at training, he sustained a hand injury that required a plaster cast. It has only just come off.
Prior to the Brisbane Test, New Zealand coach Graham Henry considered the Mortlock-Ryan Cross centre combination and, wearing that headmaster's knowing grin, declared: "Hopefully, there is a kink there somewhere."
Australia led 17-7 after 56 minutes, and then things fell apart. As Australia lost focus and dropped into second gear, New Zealand scored three tries in 11 minutes to lead 28-17.
Unpleasantly memorable was the spectacle of Cross's attempted shoulder charge on Daniel Carter, which would have been a yellow card offence but for Carter's spinning away and scoring a crucial try under the posts. Beale is training with the injured Waratahs, still trimming off the avoirdupois that dogs his every off-duty day.
In the meantime, while Deans is considering his touring party for Europe, new Waratahs coach Chris Hickey is deliberating on his team for a two-game tour of Fiji.
Sadly, Beale is no certainty to be fit for either.
