Kurtley Beale released on bail after court appearance on sexual assault charges
Beale's rugby career is on ice after being charged with four counts of sexual assault. Photo: AAP
High-profile rugby union player Kurtley Beale has denied sexually assaulting a woman in Sydney’s eastern suburbs last year after he was charged over the alleged incident.
The 34-year-old Wallabies winger was ordered on Saturday to surrender his passport, not contact witnesses and to report to police daily after he was granted bail in Parramatta Local Court.
Beale was arrested on Friday and held in custody over an alleged incident in Sydney’s east on December 17 last year.
He faces four charges, including sexual intercourse without consent, inciting another to sexually touch without consent and two counts of sexually touching another person without consent.
The charges came after police received a report that a 28-year-old woman was sexually assaulted at a licensed premises on Beach Road, Bondi Beach.
Speaking outside court, Beale’s lawyer Paul McGirr told reporters Beale would be pleading not guilty and he strongly denied the allegations.
The Australia international footballer was supported in court by his wife, Maddi.
Beale was arrested in a vehicle stop in Kingsford just before 2.30pm on Friday before being taken to Waverley Police Station for questioning.
In a statement, Rugby Australia said Beale had been suspended pending the conclusion of the legal proceedings.
“This step follows Mr Beale’s arrest and subsequent charge with serious criminal offences, and is in line with Rugby Australia’s professional player code of conduct,” it said.
Just back from training camp
Beale, who has played 95 times for his country, took part in a 44-man Wallabies training camp on the Gold Coast last week.
He recently returned to Australia ahead of the Super Rugby season for the NSW Waratahs after several years playing in France.
Beale, who is from NSW, has spent most of his more than decade-long career with the Waratahs, aside from a brief spell with the Melbourne Rebels.
He is due back in court in March.
A force of nature, Kurtley Beale has a amassed a staggering 95 caps. Photo: AAP
Beale’s arrest and charges have been rough welcome for new Wallabies coach Eddie Jones.
Long admired by Jones for his on-field flair and play-making, Beale ranks as one of Australia’s most gifted rugby backs.
His suspension “follows Mr Beale’s arrest and subsequent charge with serious criminal offences, and is in line with Rugby Australia’s Professional Player Code of Conduct,” said a statement from RA and Beale’s Super Rugby club, the NSW Waratahs.
“As this remains a legal matter, there will be no further comment until the conclusion of these proceedings.”
The charging of Beale has come just days after Jones’ second stint as Australia’s national coach was announced and in the week following the gifted playmaker taking part in a 44-man Wallabies training camp on the Gold Coast.
It was expected that the mercurial Beale, capped 95 times by the Wallabies, might be given a fresh lease of life under Jones after being omitted from Dave Rennie’s squad for the spring tour to Europe.
Beale last year returned to Australia after a spell at French club Racing 92, and in October he and wife Maddi celebrated the birth of their first son.
“Kurtley is the most wonderfully gifted player. He does things other players don’t even dream of,” Jones, who’s long talked in glowing terms of the veteran’s unique gifts, once said.
“He’s got that ability to make that big play. He just adds that extra dimension that you don’t know where he’s going to turn up in attack, you don’t know what he’s going to do and he does it with skill, he does it with pace, he does it with precision and a smile on his face.”
But Beale’s brilliance on the field has also often been accompanied by off-field controversies, and a long battle with alcoholism.
-with AAP
