Kurtley Beale says the return of Matt Toomua has given the Wallabies the depth they desperately needed in their playmaking stocks.
Former Brumbies playmaker Toomua will be back in Australian rugby with the Melbourne Rebels, from England’s Leicester, next season in a boost before next year’s World Cup.
He is already making his presence felt for the national side though, piloting Australia to a much-needed win over South Africa as fellow playmaker Bernard Foley was benched for the first time in four years.
Coach Michael Cheika’s decision to move Beale from inside centre to No.10 and Toomua into the No.12 role was validated in the scrappy 23-18 win in Brisbane on Saturday.
Beale said his good mate Foley took the news of his demotion well and that the trio would “make it work”, regardless of how Cheika opted to use them.
“He’s (Toomua) a quality player, creating a lot of healthy competition amongst the playmakers which we haven’t had for a while, since Matt Giteau left (in 2016).
“It’s keeping everyone on their toes; once you have that competition we get the best out of each other.”
Beale said the win against the Sprongboks helped ease the pressure on the Wallabies after back-to-back Bledisloe Cup losses to the All Blacks had them on the back foot.
A dangerous Argentina side await on the Gold Coast this weekend, where Beale eyes a chance for Australia to build again.
“It was great to win a Test match but … we’re scratching the surface,” he said.
“Our forwards laid the platform, now it’s a matter of finishing that good work up front.”
The likely return of fullback Israel Folau (ankle) and flanker David Pocock (neck), who were both late scratchings to play the Springboks, should help their cause.
So too would a dry deck at Robina’s Cbus Super Stadium, where Beale is expecting a more free-flowing style of rugby from both sides than the slippery, stunted performance on Saturday.