Kurtley Beale has never watched a replay of the slip. He doesn’t need YouTube for that one. He lived it.
And given the magnitude of the moment, it’s a memory that has rolled in on countless quiet nights in the dozen years since.
We are talking, of course, about Beale’s slip in the first Test of the 2013 British and Irish Lions series, when the Wallabies bench utility had a penalty kick to win the game in the 79th minute. It was 46 metres out at the heaving Suncorp Stadium but straight in front. The sort of kick Beale was not only comfortable with, but one he’d slotted 18 minutes earlier.
It would have been a famous moment, but Beale’s plant foot slipped, banana-skin style, on the churned-up field and the Lions scraped home 23-21. The Wallabies went on to win the second Test but lost the series decider. Beale’s kick proved a slip-sliding door.
“You know what … I still haven’t watched that clip, mate,” Beale says.
“I have tried to forget about it, but I’m always reminded somehow. It was probably one of the lowest points on the field for me, but it was also a valuable experience.
Kurtley Beale taking the ill-fated kick in the final moments of the first Wallabies-Lions Test in 2013.Credit: Getty Images
“I was able to learn about pressure moments, and to understand what it actually takes to be able to be successful at the very top. It was a huge learning curve for me. ”
Twelve years later, the British and Irish Lions will soon be back on Australian soil, and Beale is one of a small handful of Australian players from the 2013 series who are still playing in Super Rugby and may play the Lions a second time. James Slipper, Sam Carter and James O’Connor are the others, and Slipper may match George Smith’s singular feat (2001 & 2013) of playing in two Test series, since it became a 12-year cycle in 1989.
Radike Samo (2001 Brumbies/2013 Reds) is the other man to play in two Lions tours.
To get another crack at the Lions, however, Beale has drawn from the lessons of that night in Brisbane in 2013.
The 36-year-old is in the final stages of a long comeback journey, after rupturing his Achilles’ tendon in July last year. After returning from two years playing in Paris in 2022, Beale spent 13 months out of the game in 2023 and 2024 while fighting sexual assault charges.
He was acquitted and then joined the Western Force in April last year on an injury cover deal. Beale’s age-defying form saw him win an unlikely call-up to Joe Schmidt’s first Wallabies squad for the July Test series.
But a week out, Beale injured his Achilles tendon while playing for Randwick in the Shute Shield, and required surgery and nine months on the sidelines.
“Just absolute devastation,” Beale said of the injury setback.
“When I initially did it, I didn’t know what happened. But then I just couldn’t … my foot was all floppy, so I knew it was something really bad. A few hours after, yeah, it was just extreme disappointment and negative thoughts.”
Given his age and the injury type, many assumed Beale would hang up his boots. But he soon decided he wasn’t ready to retire, and set his long-term sights on returning.
They say you come to a stage where you know time’s up – and I just haven’t felt that
Kurtley Beale
“I had a real sense that I wanted to finish on my terms,” Beale said. “Sometimes you don’t get to, even a legend like ‘Hoops’ [Michael Hooper] didn’t get that chance. But I wanted to give it a shot.”
After doing his early rehab in Sydney, Beale reconnected with Force coach Simon Cron to talk about heading back to Perth for another season. Beale had enjoyed playing a mentoring role to young players in his first stint and was keen to continue that role even if he would not be ready to play again until midway through the Super Rugby season.
Kurtley Beale is in Perth and hopeful of returning for the Western Force in coming weeks.Credit: Getty Images
Cron agreed and Beale has been working his way back since. After an intensive rehab training period, Beale resumed full team training this week and is hopeful of being selected next week for the Force’s trip to New Zealand.
“I actually feel a lot fitter than I have been since coming back from Paris [in 2022],” Beale said.
“I have obviously been out of the game for a couple of years now. But the rehab has enabled me to come back fitter, faster, stronger, and of course, mentally refreshed.”
Beale is a long shot to join Smith and Slipper in a second Test series against the Lions, but if fit, the 95-Test back will likely play for the Force against the Lions on June 28. Moreover, as the leading Indigenous rugby player over the last two decades, Beale is also an obvious pick to captain the Indigenous and Pasifika side against the Lions in Melbourne on July 22.
“It’s a pretty amazing concept from Rugby Australia to include the Indigenous and Pasifika team in the Lions tour,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity for our young indigenous boys to partake in a special [event on] the biggest stage, and hopefully inspire a whole new batch of young boys and girls.
“They’re two big milestone games that I’d love to come back for. And hopefully, I’m able to play some good footy and show the coaches enough to get a contract for the following year.”
After several years spent more off the rugby field than on it, retirement still isn’t on Beale’s mind. If he plays on in 2026, it will be almost 20 years since he debuted for the Waratahs.
“They say you come to a stage where you know time’s up – and I just haven’t felt that,” he said.
Coming back from Achilles tendon surgery to meet the Lions again contains a full-circle element, too. After that slip in Brisbane 12 years ago, Beale had to swiftly pick himself for the second Test the next week – and bouncing back is a habit he’s been trying to hone every since.
“You build a lot of resilience from experiences like that,” Beale said.
“To be able to kind of dust yourself off and go again is one of the biggest skills that needs to be mastered at this level. And the great ones, the great players in their sports, they do it easily.
“That’s probably the difference between the good players and the great players – dealing with adversity, dusting yourself off and continuing on.”
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