Kurtley Beale’s recall to the Wallabies squad after a five-year absence from international rugby has been slammed by former All Blacks winger Jeff Wilson.

Les Kiss included the 37-year-old utility back in his touring party for the upcoming November leg of the Nations Championship following the withdrawal of centre Hunter Paisami, who has made himself unavailable due to personal reasons.

Paisami combined brilliantly with Len Ikitau in the victory over the Springboks in September, a pairing that allowed Kiss to field Joseph-Aukuso Sua’ali’i on the wing against the back-to-back world champions. However, that experiment lasted just one match as Paisami was suspended for a dangerous tackle in the win over South Africa.

Les Kiss explains Kurtley Beale’s recall

After missing the two Bledisloe Cup matches against the All Blacks, Paisami’s continued absence in November created an opportunity for Beale. “No one comes in just to fill a void,” Kiss said, explaining the recall for the 95-capped Wallabies playmaker.

“We just want to make sure it works and he is in there to perform. I have spoken to him on this. I like the fact that we have given the younger guys a chance to grow, without the experience sitting on their shoulder.

“We always said we’d lean back into the experience when we wanted to, but he is coming in to predominantly drive that second five-eighth position, at 12. He can flex into 15 and 10 in our sessions and how we build our game going forward, so we just need him in that space, and he’ll bring his experience in his way.”

Reacting to the Wallabies squad on Sky Sport NZ’s Breakdown show, Wilson slammed Kiss’ decision to recall Beale into the squad, stating that it is a backwards move.

“I love Kurtley Beale as a guy but this is not moving forward, to me it is surprising,” the ex-winger said. “Five years away from the international game, he’s not the answer to where Australia are going. Look, he was a wonderful player in his prime. He’s a long way past his prime.”

‘It’s a sad step back’

Wilson was joined on the show by former Sharks and Springbok scrum-half Kevin Putt, who agreed with the legendary outside back. He believes that Beale should be an option at fly-half for the team but shouldn’t be considered at full-back.

“You just made the key point that he is not in his prime,” Putt replied. “I’m looking at what he’s trying to offer. If he is put in at full-back, you’re dreaming.

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“It’s got to be as someone to drive the ship at 10, I would imagine and he was never that great a 10 anyway. He was a full-back of note. No, it’s a sad step back rather than a step forward.”

The Wallabies’ Nations Championship campaign continues with a meeting against England on Sunday before they tackle Scotland at Murrayfield and Wales in Cardiff before the Finals Weekend.