Kurtley Beale's return to the Wallabies jersey will take longer than anticipated, despite his rugby union career being saved once more on Friday night.
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Late on Saturday, the Australian Rugby Union confirmed Beale would not be called up to join the Wallabies tour, unless needed due to injury or circumstances relating to another player in the 33-man squad that left on Friday afternoon.
On Friday, Beale faced an ARU tribunal which fined him $45,000 after he was found guilty of one violation relating to an image and text message that referred to former Wallabies business manager Di Patston.
However, Beale's future in rugby was kept alive when the tribunal cleared him on a second and more serious charge when it found that evidence submitted did not support another allegation that a second text message had been sent by Beale.
That led the Australian Rugby Union to declare Beale available to join the Wallabies.
It had been speculated that Beale could fly out as early as Saturday afternoon, leading to a number of media outlets waiting at Sydney Airport for him to arrive in time for the scheduled 4.50pm flight to London via Dubai.
Meanwhile, the ARU had hoped to organise an opportunity for Beale to talk to the media after he avoided reporters after Friday night's tribunal by exiting from the ARU office through little-used exit.
However, just as the check-in time for Qantas Flight1 to Dubai passed on Saturday, the ARU confirmed that there would be no media opportunity for Beale, and that a statement was forthcoming in relation to his not being required for the Wallabies spring tour.
With a call-up for the tour still possible, Beale will still have to train in readiness, which indicates he will return to the Waratahs.
With Beale off contract it provides a chance for him and his management team to resume talks with the ARU or to seek opportunities overseas or with an NRL club.
In the meantime the ARU has been left to polish its image, which has lost much of its lustre in recent weeks as the Patston-Beale controversy unravelled. It was also affected by a number of other spin-off issues.
They included how Patston was treated – fairly or not – in the case, the fate of former Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie, who resigned last Saturday, and the scrutiny on captain Michael Hooper and the players and their collective strength in affecting how the affair unfolded.
The ARU, chief executive Bill Pulver and the board have come under fire for poor leadership.
It is understood that Pulver's initial description of the severity of charges against Beale was not well received. Some powerbrokers worried it compromised the independence of the tribunal to decide their severity without outside influence.
After the findings, Pulver could neither provide clarity, especially as to who sent the second text message and image relating to the charge of which Beale was cleared. Asked if the ARU knew the identity of who sent it, he said: "No ... we don't."
Pressed on how it got linked to Beale, the ARU boss said: "Again, I can't provide details of the findings of the tribunal other than to give you the outcome. The outcome was that the evidence was inconclusive in terms of the second text message."
