Wynne Gray: Beale woes distracting Wallabies

Kurtley Beale of the Wallabies. Photo / Getty Images

Troubled sports stars Kevin Pietersen and Kurtley Beale have dominated headlines with the cricketer happy to embrace the spotlight and the Wallaby trying to deflect the attention.

An inquiry into Beale's conduct towards a team official during a team flight from South Africa to Argentina has changed course.

Beale now faces a hearing into his conduct involving offensive text messages about a staff member in June, allegations Australian Rugby Union boss Bill Pulver claimed only surfaced when they investigated the incident on the plane.

That was contradicted by others who said coach Ewen McKenzie was aware of the incident at the time and both he and the target of Beale's messages, team business manager Di Patston, accepted Beale's emotional apology at the time.

The matter was not taken any further until the ARU presented it as fresh evidence this week to instigate a code of conduct hearing for Beale, an inquiry which is sure to command as much attention as the Wallabies' wavering fortunes.

Beale has been a work in progress since his introduction to the Wallabies and he rated a number of pages in Robbie Deans' just-released biography about his time in charge of the team.

"He is also exasperatingly prone to hitting the self-destruct button, delivering the good and bad in equal measures," Deans said.

"Kurtley's biggest challenge is his lack of self-reliance. When placed in an environment where he lacked sufficient support, it was nearly always detrimental."

After the latest plane incident it was noticeable captain Michael Hooper and his deputy Adam Ashley-Cooper came out in support of their teammate who was overlooked for the test in Argentina.

Players have apparently become increasingly disgruntled about Patston, her role in the team and level of authority.

Whether that discontent gets into the public arena at Beale's misconduct hearing is unlikely but the bubbling tension will surface somewhere while the Wallabies try to get their campaign sorted for the All Blacks in Brisbane next week.

The Wallaby woes will not be a distraction for Steve Hansen and his men. They have managed a few escapes in their great run of results and will be intent on making amends for their defeat to the Springboks.

Kick the Wallabies while they are down? Why not, there is no place for mercy in the international sports arena.