Crowned the Wallabies' best player a year ago, Kurtley Beale's dramatic form slump has seen him dropped for a second time in a month.
The reigning John Eales Medallist, Beale is now a mere fringe player for Australia after Berrick Barnes, with no representative No.15 experience, was shifted to fullback for Saturday night's Rugby Championship clash with Argentina on the Gold Coast.
Barnes' red-hot goalkicking boot and hard-running Pat McCabe's recovery from a foot injury combined to convince coach Robbie Deans to dump Beale to the bench.
It's the second time in three Tests the 23-year-old will be a reserve after being dropped following his tournament-opening shocker against New Zealand in Sydney.
Deans admitted it was a tough decision, and Beale's exciting attacking game would be best suited to the end of the Skilled Park encounter, but it still highlights how far he's fallen.
The underdone Melbourne Rebels star could be forgiven for his disappointing display in the first Bledisloe loss following six weeks on the sidelines, but he's failed to redeem himself sufficiently in his two hours of play in the past two Tests.
McCabe has been a Deans' favourite since he made his Test debut at second five-eighth last year and returns to the international arena following just 33 minutes of club rugby in the Canberra grand final on the weekend.
His recovery had also left Barnes vulnerable, especially as he was the main culprit for a series of ill-advised grubber kicks within Australia's half in the 26-19 win over South Africa in Perth.
But Deans indicated his remarkable 25 from 29 success rate as Wallabies goalkicker this year, including six from six against the Springboks, was a key factor in his retention ahead of Beale.
"Berrick's been kicking very well so he's been an important part of our game turning over the scoreboard and Kurtley will be a great bloke to have entering the game late against tiring bodies," he said.
NZN jsm/w
NZN
