Beale's career still on hold

Kurtley Beale will have to wait a few more days before he will know if his Australian international career has formally come to an end.

There are five debutants in the Wallaby squad that will travel to Europe for the year-end tour, but there was no room for Beale in new coach Michael Cheika's first squad.

Beale faces a code-of-conduct hearing on Friday, the same day the squad departs for Europe, following his in-flight confrontation with former team management member Di Patston and subsequent revelations that he'd also sent lewd text messages to teammates about the former Wallabies staffer.

With a long rap sheet, Beale's fate lay in the hands of District Court judge Mark Williams, who will chair a three-person panel also featuring former Wallaby David Giffin and barrister Dominic Villa.

Giffin is representing the ARU, with Villa appearing for the Rugby Union Players' Association.

ARU CEO Bill Pulver confirmed that Beale's place in the squad is entirely dependent on the result of that hearing.

It is unclear whether McKenzie or Patston, due to no longer being employees of the ARU, will give evidence at Friday's hearing when Beale faces a charge of breaching section 7.3 of the ARU's Member Protection policy, which relates to anti-discrimination and harassment.

Pulver said the fact Beale was currently suspended and preparing to front the hearing as the Wallabies fly to Europe was in no way a reflection that the ARU already deemed him guilty of any wrongdoing.

"Let me comment on the timing issue," Pulver said.

"We had originally scheduled the tribunal to be held on the 13th of October.

"Kurtley's legal team came back and quite justifiably said that they needed more time.

"It's clearly longer than I think everybody would've liked, but it was really in response to request from his legal team."

With his future in Australian rugby uncertain, Beale has already been linked to a switch to the NRL or the French Top 14.

"I won't be answering any questions on that today [Wednesday], because there's no way that I want to prejudice what's going to happen with Kurtley on Friday," newly appointed coach Michael Cheika said.

Patston resigned as the Wallabies' business and logistics manager earlier this month citing stress following the ordeal which triggered one of the most tumultuous fortnights in Australian rugby history.

The saga also claimed the scalp of coach Ewen McKenzie, who stood down after Saturday's Bledisloe Cup loss to New Zealand believing he had lost the respect of his Wallabies charges.

The 33-man touring party, led by current stand-in skipper Michael Hooper, marks the return of injured duo Matt Toomua and Ben McCalman to the national setup.

Melbourne Rebels loose forward Sean McMahon and Western Force prop Tetera Faulkner are bolters among the five uncapped players.

The others yet to play for Australia are Western Force centre Kyle Godwin, Brumbies wing Henry Speight and Melbourne Rebels wing Tom English.

The squad includes three changes to the group which recently assembled for the third Bledisloe Cup Test in Brisbane, including the return of injured duo Matt Toomua and Ben McCalman.

McCalman was initially expected to miss the remainder of 2014 due to a shoulder injury, but has improved significantly in recent weeks and has been cleared to play.

Teammate and fellow back row forward Scott Fardy will however miss the remainder of the Test season, and underwent surgery for an ongoing knee issue in Canberra on Tuesday.

"Any time I am involved with a team it's expected that supporters are proud of their efforts every time they play," Cheika said.

The new coach also made it clear that he sees himself as the one accountable for arresting the Wallabies' slide.

"I am going to have to work hard and learn quickly but I am up for the challenge," Cheika said.

"There's a lot of players that still need to rise to their full potential and that's the job of the coach."

In addition to Michael Cheika's appointment for the year-end tour, Bill Pulver also announced there will be changes to the Wallabies' off-field structure to help support the team's high performance objectives.

"A recent review found we need to introduce a senior position into the Wallabies' off-field structure to provide additional leadership and general management duties."

"For the upcoming year-end tour, our General Manager of Pathways & Performance, Ben Whitaker, will undertake this role, with a permanent appointment and confirmation of what this role will encompass to be made after the tour.

Ben Whitaker has worked in professional rugby for the past ten years in a range of roles covering high performance, overseeing national teams and programs; sports science; and sports medicine. Most recently, he has been a driving force behind the National Rugby Championship.

Other changes include Waratahs defence coach Nathan Grey joining the team. Grey will be part of a three-man coaching line-up for the tour, alongside Cheika and existing forwards coach Andrew Blades.

Pulver said this means contracts for coaches Nick Scrivener and Jim McKay will end.

"I'd like to thank Nick and Jim for their significant contribution to Australian," Pulver said.

"Nick has been a long-serving contributor at the national level under two coaches. Most recently, he has shaped the Wallabies' defence and had significant input and oversight of the team's overall training program.

"Jim has been at the forefront of the new attacking style the Wallabies have played in the past year, and we've all enjoyed seeing the free-flowing style of Rugby Jim has promoted.

"I would also like to thank Nick and Jim – as well as Andrew Blades – for their incredible leadership, particularly in recent weeks. They were both exceptional in preparing the team to play under difficult circumstances, and this decision should not take away from the high quality of work they produced over a long period.

"Their contribution was highlighted by the Wallabies' performance against the All Blacks last Saturday."

Australian squad: Adam Ashley-Cooper, Ben Alexander, Sam Carter, Quade Cooper, Tom English, Saia Fainga'a, Tetera Faulkner, Israel Folau, Bernard Foley, Will Genia, Kyle Godwin, James Hanson, Scott Higginbotham, Matt Hodgson, Michael Hooper (captain), Rob Horne, James Horwill, Luke Jones, Sekope Kepu, Tevita Kuridrani, Christian Leali'ifano, Josh Mann-Rea, Ben McCalman, Sean McMahon, Nick Phipps, Benn Robinson, Rob Simmons, Will Skelton, James Slipper, Henry Speight, Joe Tomane, Matt Toomua, Nic White.

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