Beale's Super Rugby return would be great, says Rennie

Wallabies coach Dave Rennie has backed Kurtley Beale to be a positive influence on Super Rugby should the French-based back decide to end his stint with Racing 92 and return to Australia.

Beale made a surprise return to the Wallabies team last year to face Scotland in November and speculation has grown that the 33-year-old is keen to move back to Australia to push his claim for a spot in the Wallabies' squad for next year's World Cup.

"I was really impressed with KB," Rennie told reporters on Tuesday. "He's obviously passionate, desperate to be part of the Wallabies again.

"His contribution was massive. Worked really hard on his game, contributed lots in regards to discussion and in regard to our planning and then performed really well.

"If he ends up coming home, that'll be great from our perspective because he'll have a lot more influence from a Super Rugby point of view compared to if he's playing in France."

Beale was one of several overseas-based senior players, including Quade Cooper and Samu Kerevi, who returned to the squad last year to bolster Rennie's options during a season played out in difficult conditions due to the pandemic.

The New Zealander is hoping the coming year will see less upheaval within his squad, although he remains open-minded about admitting fresh talent into his line-up as the new Super Rugby Pacific season kicks off next week.

"The door's always open," said Rennie. "If someone emerges from left field they'll be rewarded.

"But I'd expect us to have a more settled look around the squad because we've got a lot of knowledge and we've got a lot of confidence in the guys we're using.

"Again, they've got to perform and if they do that, hopefully they can build on what they've done so far. We're