Even in front of five-thousand jubilant NSW fans, star playmaker Kurtley Beale was refusing to commit to the Waratahs’ Super Rugby title defence in 2015.
As the newly-crowned champions continued their celebrations with a civic reception in Sydney’s Martin Place on Tuesday – and began plotting a path to back-to-back trophies – Beale remained coy on his playing future.
When asked about staying in the harbour city next year, the off-contract backline ace told the crowd: “I’ll just leave that up to my manager.
“But I love the boys. I love being back here in NSW. I love being home.”
Beale has been linked to a code switch to rugby league, with Canterbury coach Des Hasler believed to be interested in recruiting the Wallabies star as a fullback.
Teammate and fellow Wallaby Nick Phipps said Beale’s comments on stage were the most he’d heard about the situation, but seemed certain they meant he was staying put – even though he hadn’t announced it to the team.
“I just heard it up there,” Phipps said.
“I knew he was probably going to stay. He’s happy in NSW. The `Tahs is the place where he grew up and I can’t really see him leaving there.
“We want what’s best for Kurtley and we would be happy with whatever his decision was.
“He’s a phenomenal bloke, so you can’t really hold a bloke back from doing whatever.”
Phipps was hopeful a majority of the current squad would stick together for the next few years, having grown so close under the tutelage of Michael Cheika.
“The players getting to know each other day-in day-out, it’s something that’s special – and you build on that. That’s when you win those tight games like on the weekend,” he said.
With Saturday’s one-point win over the Crusaders still fresh in their minds, the Waratahs wasted no time in planning for next season.
Phipps revealed the team had gathered for a “big meeting” on Tuesday morning before the celebrations to talk about what they needed to improve to win title number two.
And it even included players who won’t be at Waratahs in 2015, allowing them to “add their input to help leave the club a better place”.
“We know that other teams will be coming after us,” he added.
“I guess you can look back and say we’re the benchmark at the moment, so it’s just important that we keep improving and keep working hard.
“We would like to be able to create our own piece of history and create that dynasty that some other teams have, but for us we’ll already be targeted next year. Everyone will be out to get the `Tahs.
“So we’ve got to get back to work and get better to try back it up.”
