IN bringing controversial playmaker Kurtley Beale into the fold for the Wallabies Spring tour, coach Michael Cheika has made the biggest call of his brief time in the job.

On the eve of Australia’s Test against France, he spoke about the reasons behind it.

You’ve made a big call to bring Kurtley over, or do you not see it that way?

I don’t, because it’s important that I stay apolitical. If I don’t select the players who I think should be in the team, then I’m just playing politics and that’s not what I’m interested in. I’m interested in picking a team that’s going to be strong in every game we play. He has trained hard for three weeks and he’s back up to fitness. There’s only a couple of weeks left of the trip, he can add something.

Are you worried it will be a distraction or unsettling to the team?

Not at all. I don’t want to get involved in other stuff. I just want to coach the team as best as I can. If I don’t select him now, when should I select him? Is it any less distracting if I select him in June or July next year? I don’t want to play those games. It would have been easier for me not to bring him (over) but I don’t think it’s the right thing. It can help us, we’re at the end of a long season. Israel (Folau) is clocking up metres at every training and every game and we’ve got no second fullback here. We need to have a little bit of extra energy for the last couple of games.

media_camera Kurtley Beale talks to the media at Sydney Airport ahead of joining the Wallabies in Europe.

You’ve got a few young guys here in the backline who are a rung below the Test side, working hard to get a start and now you bring Kurtley in. How will that make them feel?

They were one rung down before. When you play for Australia, I imagine, it’s got to be about who’s the best.

Will your decision divide people?

It won’t in the team. It might outside and it probably always will. Will it divide them any less now than it will in June? I’ve got to stay true to what I believe and what I believe as the coach at this level. I don’t have any influence in any other part of the ARU except for coaching the team and picking it. That’s what I’ve got to stay focused on. If people at the ARU didn’t want him to play, then that decision would have been made. Now that decision is made, if I’m not looking at it that way, I’m letting down the other players because you’ve got to get the best players playing. What do we do? Put it off a little bit and hope everyone forgets about it and he can come back later on? I don’t think that’s the right thing to do.

Have you been in constant contact with him?

No. I’ve been talking to the training staff at the Waratahs. The first time I spoke to Kurtley was yesterday. He’s done three hard weeks, he’s looking fit and he’s a player that needs to be in condition.

media_camera Michael Cheika at Wallabies training at the Stade De France in Paris.

That’s physical fitness but he has been through a rough time. Will coming back into the team environment help him mentally?

I’m not really thinking about that to be honest. I just look at the choices. Right now is he in the top 33? Yeah he is. So he should be here.

When you rang him, what did he say?

I don’t think he was expecting to come, put it that way. But I think he was excited and he’s obviously going to try to redeem himself; get respect back on the playing field because he’s obviously very disappointed, as he should be, with what transpired.

What message does this give to the other players?

The team knows that if anyone goes outside our own sort of agreement as to how to behave, that player’s out, whether it’s Player A or Player B and that’s all there is to it. Like I said, I thought about it. I did think, ‘should I not, should I just leave it and wait until later’ but I said to myself I don’t want to play politics and that’s exactly what I said to the team. I just want to be the best coach I can be for the players in this team. This is a tough decision to make in that it could divide some people, but I think that if I didn’t do that, I’d only be playing to the crowd, as opposed to what my real job is here.

media_camera Kurtley Beale and Michael Cheika celebrate a Waratahs win.

Does the team have a code of behaviour?

Not written down. It’s really just respect. Everyone does their jobs and if you go outside the line, it’s like in normal life. I don’t believe in too many of those sorts of rules. If you have to force it on guys it’s a worry. When I’ve told the team that’s the way I want it to be they’ve really responded to that and matured. It’s like they’re saying ‘he’s giving us the opportunity to behave like responsible men, let’s make sure we take it’.

Do you think people should move on and now judge Kurtley only on what happens in the future?

Everyone’s entitled to an opinion. I’m not a judge. I’m not going to tell people how to think. I understand the varying points of view. It’s mixed emotions on all fronts without doubt, and there’s no right answer on what the outcome was and no one’s going to be 100 per cent pleased. You’ve seen by differing opinions on it that it’s obviously a matter that’s not black and white. What I should be doing is not even be involved in that and say, anyone who’s fit and ready to play should be considered for selection.

Did you have to run the decision through (ARU CEO) Bill Pulver?

Of course. I had to take it through my superior and explain to him why I thought it was a good decision. He gave me a fair shout at why I thought this should be done. He thought OK, that’s fair enough. I just thought it was the right thing to do, not in any sense except that I’m the coach and if a player is available and he’s what we need, he should be in the mix. We’re coming into two more big games — massive games — this is a very difficult tour and new energy is only going to give us more chance.