'I'd love to see him back': Waratah reacts to news of Kurtley Beale's rugby return

Waratahs winger Triston Reilly believes NSW players would welcome Kurtley Beale back to the club with open arms as the former Wallabies star prepares to return to the field.

Beale, 35, was in February found not guilty of raping a woman in Bondi's Beach Road Hotel bathrooms in 2022.

In January last year, Rugby Australia and the Waratahs suspended the 95 Test veteran from all forms of rugby until the legal proceedings were complete.

Beale toyed with a potential NRL switch but is set to instead play for Randwick in Saturday's Australian Club Championship against Brothers in Brisbane.

"He went through whatever he needed to go through and he's come out the other side," Reilly, who also plays for Randwick, told reporters on Tuesday.

"I heard that he was down at Randwick on the weekend... he trained there on Thursday. But, yeah, I'd love to see him back in the game.

"He's a very good player and I've always looked up to someone like him."

Reilly, from Dunghutti Country, said Beale was still held in high esteem among Australia's small Indigenous rugby community.

"I've always looked up to Kurtley, like he was one of the only Indigenous players that I sort of knew coming through rugby when I was growing up.

"I'm pretty close with him and I think with (Dylan) Pietsch and myself here, hopefully we can get more Indigenous players in Super Rugby.

"There's not many of us and yeah, we're just paving the way for others to come through and hopefully with success. And whoever's the next Indigenous Wallaby, hopefully we can just build that for the future."

The Waratahs host the Blues in Sydney on Saturday night.