Kurtley Beale

A request that Kurtley Beale change his T-shirt escalated into a heated inflight argument that has shrouded the playmaker in controversy, put a staff member’s future in doubt, and now threatens to engulf the Wallabies a day out from a Test match.

Wallabies team business manager Di Patston flew back to Sydney on Tuesday, two days after she and Beale were involved in a heated stoush across the aisle in the business class cabin of South Africa Airways flight 222 from Johannesburg to Sao Paulo on Sunday morning.

Sydney Morning Herald

The incident is under investigation by the head of the ARU’s integrity unit, Phil Thomson. Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie revealed no details of what was alleged to have occurred for fear, he said, of “a trial by media”.

What triggered the boilover, however, reveals a fraught picture of a team under immense pressure, individuals vulnerable after a bitter loss, and concerns about growing unease within the side.

“I was aware from the flight onwards,” McKenzie said on Wednesday when asked when he found out about the argument.

Fairfax Media understands McKenzie was sitting next to Patston on the flight and that it was a request from the head coach – that Beale change his T-shirt for another piece of team gear – which sparked the encounter.

McKenzie had made the same request of rookie second-rower Sam Carter, it is understood, and both players complied.

But Beale, in a foul mood after the side’s 28-10 loss to the Springboks 15 hours earlier, made a sarcastic comment as he returned to his seat.

The comment was questioned by Patston, according to witnesses in the cabin, and the pair argued with each other while McKenzie and other members of the touring party tried to intervene.

The team landed in Sao Paulo later that day and spent almost four hours in transit before making the three-hour flight to Argentina. By the time they were delivered to the Hotel Emperador in downtown Buenos Aires – without their luggage – it was midnight on Sunday.

The Wallabies had spent 24 hours on the road hours after losing their most brutal Test yet under McKenzie.

The Wallabies coach was notably absent from the side’s training session in the posh outer suburb of San Isidro on Tuesday afternoon, and it has since emerged he had personally escorted Patston to the airport to ensure she made her flight safely.

News of the incident did not filter out until the next morning, when the team was preparing to fly to Mendoza, their base for the rest of this week.

But what on the surface appeared to be yet another disciplinary issue involving Beale, who has battled a history of off-field and alcohol-related issues, rapidly emerged as a far more complex picture.

“[With] matters of integrity, you’ve actually got to protect the people involved until there is some sort of decision,” McKenzie said on Wednesday.

“There’s processes going on and, as I say, it’s awkward when you’re [on the other side of the world], but welfare and these matters are paramount from my perspective, and behaviour.”

Patston is a close and trusted confidante of McKenzie’s, who worked with the Super Rugby title-winning coach at the Queensland Reds in the role of team administrator between 2011 and 2013. She moved with him to the ARU when McKenzie was named Wallabies coach in August last year.

Her responsibilities, as listed on Patston’s LinkedIn profile, include management and oversight of individual and squad disciplinary matters, Wallabies staff, team finances, and acting as a liaison officer for the team.

Many inside the Wallabies consider her a hard-working and indispensable team member who has taken on more responsibility as ARU budget cuts bit hard.

On top of her day to day duties, Patston is understood to be heavily involved with the families of the squad’s Polynesian players, and often organises buses to games for their wives and girlfriends.

But it is understood some members of the playing group and management have felt growing unease at Patston’s expanding but blurry role within the team, which has seen her sit in on disciplinary matters and recently tour with the group overseas for the first time.

It is also understood that while no one condones Beale’s behaviour – for which he later apologised – a number inside the camp feel he is in danger of being unfairly made a scapegoat.

It is not known whether anyone has raised their concerns directly with McKenzie. Patston and the Wallabies were both contacted for comment.

The outcome of the ARU’s investigation is not expected to be known until after the Wallabies’ clash with the Pumas. Beale was dropped from the Wallabies squad for the Test.

While McKenzie balances the demands of managing a hugely sensitive situation, which could have serious ramifications for the off-contract Beale and an under-pressure staff member, he must also rally the side to make a statement on Saturday.

While Beale was not drinking on the flight, and denies being intoxicated, it is understood he and other teammates had consumed alcohol after the Test match – their only team-sanctioned opportunity to share a drink while in camp.

“These things are time-consuming, so I don’t pretend that I enjoy the distraction of it,” McKenzie said. “But matters of welfare are critical. Matters of behaviour are critical, too, to team culture, so I’m not going to sit here and leave things undone or not attended.

“I’ll follow the things through and obviously the ARU will take the lead on it but I’ll follow it through until [the end] and make sure things get sorted.”