In the wake of the Kurtley Beale crisis, and a crisis is what it is, Australian Rugby need to look at their eligibility rules to get their way out of the situation they are now in.

The Beale controversy highlights that he is just one small part of what is wrong with Australian rugby.

They are in a crisis. They are running out of money, their player depth is not great.

My answer would be to go and pay whatever it costs to bring Matt Giteau back to Australia. He's a mature player, who has just been named Europe's top player, so bring him back and get him to transform the side by example while also starting to work on improving their image.

You need your experienced players to be able to do that.

At the moment when you compare Australia's situation with New Zealand's in Beale's position, the All Blacks can call on Ma'a Nonu, Sonny Bill Williams, Malakai Fekitoa, Ryan Crotty, Dan Carter, Aaron Cruden and Beauden Barrett.

So when there is an indiscretion committed New Zealand can afford to drop someone just like they did with Cruden, and they can pick someone else.

Australia can't do that because there is no-one else to pick. The cupboard is bare and what tends to happen in under-resourced examples like this players can get away with bad behaviour.

What it also does is come down to the lack of depth, the lack of money in Australia's game, the lack of support of the public and if they don't have the depth then the question is how do they fix the problem they have got?

Not knowing all the ins and outs of the controversy, it appears the drama has been played out for everyone to see which is making a bit of a mockery of Australian rugby right now.

It's the last thing Australia need, and the last thing New Zealand want. From our perspective the All Blacks need Australia to be in the top three in the world because there are benefits for New Zealand rugby in terms of competition.

Di Patston at the centre of the scandal © Twitter

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What we've got happening is a genuine Neighbours soap opera because that is what it is like for our rugby neighbours.

It might give us something to chuckle about, but it goes deeper than that and I am worried about the way it is unfolding because it is going to damage the reputation of Australian rugby which is not good for the game.

I love the way, in the team environment, that the players have come out and rallied around Beale. Adam Ashley-Cooper typified the way that senior players should react. In that environment you do things that are the best for the team.

If you are going to make a decision, before you do it, ask yourself …'is this helping the team?'. Whether that is going to have a beer, having a walk down the road or sending a text message, you ask yourself that question, the answer is usually pretty obvious. And when someone makes a mistake you deal with it straight away. That player gets a slap on the wrist and discipline is seen to happen so that everyone realises it is wrong.

It is no different to kids and a group of males can be just like kids. But if anyone is going to be in that environment whatever is good for the goose is good for the gander. If you make criticism but can't take it when you are telling people how to improve their lives, and you cop a text message that is wrong, which I am not condoning, you need to be NOT so ultra-sensitive and you need to be able to make an example of those kids.

Discipline them by all means, but do it inside the camp. If all of a sudden the whole world is finding out about it you are the wrong person for the job.

I don't know what the job description for the position was but you have to ask if a business manager should be hanging around the team anyway?

Comparisons with the Aaron Cruden are obvious. All Blacks coach Steve Hansen dealt with that issue and it was done. He came out in the open and that was it.

What the media love is when they sense they haven't been told the truth. Then they keep digging to find something because they know the honesty is not completely there and they will turn over every rock trying to find it.

But now that the Beale issue is going to the ARU it just drags on and on and people ask what is the real story? And it all becomes a distraction.

Beale and James O'Connor have both been involved in rugby scandals © Getty Images

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So far as the weekend is concerned I think off-the-field the players can rally around the likes of Beale and offer him support but if there are divisions inside the camp with the business manager, the ARU or the coach and players then it doesn't matter what the public outside that environment think, your ship is cracking and leaking.

And if there are issues between the players and the board, then that is addressed by the senior players who sit down with the management and draw the line by saying this is who we are, this is our identity and these are the ground rules. But at the moment it doesn't seem that everyone is aware of what those ground rules are.

When you are inside that team, and I have been in a lot of teams and camps, it is a childish environment at times. Boys are boys and while they are fully grown men they are still capable of being silly buggers.

But there are always boundaries and if anyone crosses the line there are consequences. And as I have said I don't think Australian Rugby have the ability to follow through with the luxury of player depth that New Zealand Rugby enjoys because New Zealand will just move that player on and replace him.

Beale is someone that Australia can't really replace. But the crisis they face is not new and when you look at someone like James O'Conner it has been there for five or six years and it is a slow decline. As it stands they are there or thereabouts at the moment and Southern Hemisphere rugby needs them to be strong.

So far as Saturday's game is concerned I think it is important the All Blacks bounce back from South Africa and I feel there is plenty of opportunity with the USA game and the Scotland game to give some of the reserves a start. We need to respect Australia and bounce back from a loss and put 'em to the sword.

Kurtley Beale remains at the centre of an Australian rugby crisis © Getty Images

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