Australia star Kurtley Beale has opened up on the alcohol issues that saw him get into a drunk fight with his own teammates.
Wallabies veteran Beale entered rehab before the British and Irish Lions tour in 2013 as his alcohol problems got out of control. The versatile playmaker has been capped 95 times by Australia and his adventurous domestic career has taken him to northern hemisphere sides Wasps and Racing 92.
But Beale reached a personal low before the Lions tour after an alcohol-fuelled scrap with Melbourne Rebels team-mates Gareth Delve and Cooper Vuna. The ugly incident followed a humiliating 64-7 defeat for the Rebels against the Sharks in South Africa. Beale is said to have come to blows with the duo after confronting captain Delve, who asked him to put a shirt on when arriving at the team hotel after the match.
And he has now accepted that he deserved punishment for his actions and used his rehabilitation as a time for personal growth.
"I checked myself into rehab. It came off the back end of the Rebels, me getting in a stink with one of the other players," Beale revealed in Stan Sport’s ‘Kurtley: My Story' feature.
"I made a bit of a porkchop of myself and absolutely deserved every sanction and everything like that. It was the time there where things weren't going right for me. I had to get help. With the support going back to my pillars, they pretty much said, maybe let's go down this route and try find yourself a bit. It was pretty tough.
"You think as a young kid you know everything, right? You know everything. I always see it as it's all learnings. It's a time for growth and I found that period really helpful because it was all about reconnecting with my identity because I lost it."
Beale overcame his alcohol battle to star against the Lions, as Warren Gatland's touring team secured a brilliant series victory Down Under.
"I was very lucky to be picked in that Lions squad after that," Beale admitted. 'I felt good and everything, but the way the games went on, it wasn't the best. Again, they're all kind of learnings, you've just got to accept it and then move on from that."
The 33-year-old later played a starring role in Australia's run to the Rugby World Cup final at Twickenham in 2015. And after signing for the Warratahs for 2023, the utility back will be hoping to feature in his fourth World Cup for the Wallabies in France next year.
