Rugby: Wallabies willing to make bid for Kurtley Beale

Kurtley Beale in action for the Wallabies against the All Blacks. Photo / Getty

Wallabies coach Michael Cheika will soon start preparing his bid to bring former Waratahs star Kurtley Beale home.

Beale agreed to a whopping A$1.45 million ($1.55 million) per year deal with English Premiership side Wasps last year and, after finally recovering from a long-term knee injury, was named man-of-the-match on debut in early December.

The 28-year-old utility hasn't scored since, but has played seven matches for the club and appears to be finding his bearings again after an unsettling seven months out of the game.

Cheika, however, is desperate to have Beale back in Super Rugby as he continues on his mission to build depth in Australian rugby.

There is reportedly a clause in his two-year contract that permits Beale to exit the club after one season if he desires.

But with 68 test caps, he falls on the right side of the "Giteau law" and is eligible to play for the Wallabies from abroad, which could be an incentive to see out the full length of his record-breaking Wasps contract.

With the 2019 World Cup in Japan fast approaching, Cheika said he will "definitely" put his case to Beale before the Premiership campaign ends in May.

If successful, it could mean an early pre-finals gift for the Waratahs.

"I spoke to him when we were on tour and he told me how he was going over there and kept me up to date with where he's at," Cheika said.

"Obviously I'm keen for him to come back, there's no doubt about that.

"I'm sure that time will come around soon enough, when it's time to start putting our proposal to him and start speaking about coming back.

"He's one of our top players and we're very, very keen for him to be playing in Australia -- even though he's still eligible to play for the Wallabies from overseas."

Beale was in career-best form before he suffered a ruptured patella tendon in May last year against the Bulls, less than 24 hours after his deal with Wasps was announced.

When he left the Waratahs, he said he wanted to finish his career at home.

"He still plays really good rugby, there's no doubt about that, and he's come back from the injury very well -- that's what I know," Cheika said.

"He's had no side-effects from the injury and it was a pretty big one, which is very positive."

- AAP