Kurtley Beale has been stood down by Rugby Australia after he was charged over an alleged sexual assault.

The NSW Waratahs back was arrested by police over reports a 28-year-old woman was assaulted in a Sydney pub on December 17.

Beale, a 95-cap Wallabies veteran, was taken into custody after he was stopped in Kingsford on Friday by authorities.

"Detectives from Eastern Suburbs Police Area Command took carriage of the matter and commenced an investigation under Strike Force Titheradge," read a police statement.

"He was taken to Waverley Police Station and charged with two counts of sexually touch another person without consent, incite another to sexually touch them without consent and sexual intercourse without consent.

"The man was refused bail to appear before Parramatta Bail Court tomorrow [on Saturday]."

In a statement of their own, Rugby Australia said Beale has been suspended from all forms of rugby until the conclusion of legal proceedings and its own investigations.

"This step follows Mr Beale’s arrest and subsequent charge with serious criminal offences, and is in line with Rugby Australia’s professional player code of conduct," Rugby Australia added.

"The Rugby Union Players Association (RUPA) has been informed of this development. As this remains a legal matter, there will be no further comment until the conclusion of these proceedings."

Beale made his Wallabies debut in 2009 and has gone on to make close to a century of appearances, including playing in the 2015 Rugby World Cup final.

He was included in a 44-man training squad by former coach Dave Rennie ahead of this year's World Cup, before the latter was replaced by Eddie Jones.

Former Wales centre Jamie Roberts says playing rugby has been "the best job in the world" and he intends to remain with the sport after announcing his retirement at 35.

The ex-Cardiff Blues back, who has enjoyed a prolific club and international career that saw him play his domestic trade in five countries and win 94 caps for his nation, finishes his time after a brief stint with the Waratahs.

Roberts, who also won three caps for the British and Irish Lions, says he plans to stay in the game after hanging up his boots, and has spoken of the honour he has enjoyed to be able to live out his career.

"There's no doubt I'll stay with the sport past retirement," he said. "Whilst I figure everything out, that'll be predominantly in a broadcasting capacity.

"My experiences in the game have indeed taken me to immeasurable highs as well as desperate lows, eliciting every emotion possible along the way. Above all, the game has provided a sense of belonging, friendship and healthy competition.

"I'll miss the changing room, the matchday buzz and the aches and pains. I guess most of all I'll miss the lads.

"I've had the privilege of playing alongside and against many of the modern day greats; not just great players but great men. To all those I've been fortunate to share the field with, it was a pleasure.

"For a short while, we have the best job in the world. Never forget it."

Roberts made his debut for Wales in 2008, in a Six Nations win over Scotland on the wing, and retires as the joint-eighth most-capped man in the country's history.

He featured in their 2011 and 2015 World Cup campaigns - helping them to fourth in the former - and was a member of two separate Lions tours, to South Africa in 2009 and Australia in 2013.

"Representing my country was always a childhood dream, I'm fortunate it became reality," said Roberts. "It meant the world to me and forever will.

"I'll also never forget the immense pride of captaining my country. Singing the anthem had the same impact whether at home in Cardiff, away at some of the most iconic stadiums in World rugby, or during two Rugby World Cups.

"I'll remember fondly reaching the pinnacle of representative rugby and touring twice with the Lions. The joys and despair I experienced on both tours amounted to nothing short of experiences of a lifetime."

Jordie Barrett missed two late penalties as the Hurricanes lost their 100 per cent Super Rugby Trans-Tasman record, slipping to a 12-10 defeat to the Brumbies after the Highlanders had hammered the Waratahs.

The Hurricanes' hopes of reaching the final were rocked at GIO Stadium, where the Brumbies held on to secure their first win of the competition on Saturday.

Brumbies scrum-half Ryan Lonergan crossed for the opening try in Canberra, but Jason Holland's side led 10-7 at half-time courtesy of a Dane Coles score and five points from the boot of Barrett.

Len Ikitau put the Brumbies back in front with their second try 12 minutes after the break and the visitors had a late Alex Fidow try ruled out for a knock-on.

Barrett was then off target with a penalty from the halfway line in the closing stages and the New Zealand international was unable to win it from the tee with the last kick of the game.

A second victory for an Australian franchise in the tournament leaves the beaten Hurricanes in fourth place and looking likely to miss out on a place in the final, with just one game of the regular season to come, which is against the Reds next Friday.

A ruthless Highlanders team had no such trouble in Dunedin, thrashing the struggling Waratahs 59-23 to sit in second place - a point behind the Blues and ahead of the Crusaders on points difference.

They ran away with it in the second half, scoring 26 points without reply after going in at the interval with a 33-23 advantage.

There were doubles for Ethan de Groot and Jona Nareki in a nine-try rout, while Mitch Hunt booted 14 points.

The Reds finally ended the wait for an Australian win in the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman season, but there were heavy defeats for the Waratahs and the Brumbies on Saturday.

With Damian McKenzie sent off in the 22nd minute for making contact with the head area, the impressive Reds appeared to be coasting to victory when they opened up a 40-8 lead midway through the second half.

Isaac Henry scored two of their six tries, the first of which came with Chase Tiatia in the sin bin. McKenzie's red card then swung the game even further in the Reds' favour, as they capitalised on having an extra man to run up the score.

However, they were then forced to repel a frenetic comeback bid, four tries from the Chiefs closing the gap down to six points in the closing minutes.

The hosts managed to hold on to win 40-34 and register a first Australian success in the tournament at the 15th attempt, in the process denting their opponents' hopes of making the grand final as they collected only a losing bonus point.

New Zealand sides had dominated the two earlier fixtures, though, including the rampant Crusaders cutting loose against the Waratahs.

There were eight different try-scorers for Scott Robinson's team in an emphatic 54-28 triumph, with Richie Mo'unga converting all bar one of the scores in the rout.

The Waratahs did get within 10 points after Izaia Perese touched down with Oli Jager in the sin bin, while they also capitalised on yellow cards for David Havili and Nathan Vella to score a late try through Alex Newsome, albeit it was no more than a consolation effort.

The Blues made it three straight Trans-Tasman wins despite a determined Brumbies side matching them in the first half at Eden Park, the away team even holding a 10-7 lead when hooker Connal McInerney went over.

They were unable to hold onto the lead for long and trailed 17-10 at the break, Finlay Christie touching down for a try converted by Otere Black, who also slotted over a penalty.

The hosts added 21 points without reply in the second half, Bryce Heem, AJ Lam and TJ Faiane all grabbing tries in a 38-10 triumph that sees them take over at the top of the table.

Richie Mo'unga plundered a hat-trick as the Crusaders demolished the Reds 63-28 in Brisbane, with the champions of New Zealand swamping their Australian counterparts in Super Rugby Trans Tasman.

In just the second round of the competition, the Canterbury giants showed off their prowess and Mo'unga served up a dazzling offering of his quality.

The All Blacks fly-half was in inspired form from the off, and by the half-hour mark he had already snagged a pair of clinical tries and set up Sevu Reece to dart in for another stunning score. With Cullen Grace also sprinting through for a try, and Mo'unga clinical from the tee, the rampaging Crusaders were 28-0 ahead after just 29 minutes.

Tate McDermott got the Reds on the board with their first try, but the Crusaders kept the points flowing, Reece dashing in at the right corner to increase their lead to 35-7 early in the second half, before Mo'unga got his third try after 55 minutes, dotting down near the posts to allow himself an easy conversion.

A penalty try, accompanied by a yellow card for Harry Hoopert, nudged the Crusaders 49-7 ahead, but curiously the 14-man Reds then enjoyed their best spell, as Harry Wilson and Suliasi Vunivalu scored classy tries to reduce their deficit to 49-21 going into the final 15 minutes.

Hopes of further damage limitation were crushed when Tamaiti Williams powered over and Codie Taylor added another try to emphasise a devastating team performance, before Brandon Paenga-Amosa barged in for a last-gasp consolation.

Luke Jacobson earlier crossed twice as the Chiefs ran in six tries in a 40-19 victory over the Brumbies in Hamilton.

The hosts overwhelmed their visitors, with Jacobson landing a first-half double, collecting from the back of the scrum and crossing from close range each time, and further tries coming from Tupou Vaa'i, Damian McKenzie, Alex Nankivell and Anton Lienert-Brown.

McKenzie booted five conversions, with the result never in doubt. The Brumbies responded through tries from Len Ikitau, Tom Cusack and, right at the death, Rob Valetini.

Wing Bryce Heem grabbed a hat-trick for a rampant Blues side whose second-half dominance secured a 48-21 win against the Waratahs.

Armed with a 22-14 half-time advantage, the Blues raised their game for the second 40 minutes and pulled away, inflicting a 10th straight defeat of the season on the visitors to Eden Park.

The Hurricanes beat the Waratahs 64-48 in a 17-try thriller and the Highlanders hammered the Reds as Super Rugby Trans-Tasman got under way on Friday.

Julian Savea and Billy Proctor claimed doubles as the impressive Hurricanes scored 10 tries in a pulsating contest, which saw the two sides rack up over a century of points at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Savea opened the scoring with an early try to help his side go in at half-time with a 33-24 advantage, Proctor dotting down twice either side of scores from Jordie Barrett and Dane Coles.

Alex Newsome, Angus Bell and Jake Gordon crossed for the Australian team in the first half as defensive frailties were exploited at both ends of the pitch.

Savea finished again early in the second half in a try-fest before Brayden Iose, Peter Umaga-Jensen, Pepesana Patafilo and Asafo Aumua got in on the act, while Barrett was on target with seven of his conversion attempts.

Harry Johnson-Holmes scored two of the beaten Waratahs' four second-half tries during what was an incredible contest.

Super Rugby Trans Tasman | Waratahs v Hurricanes - Rd 1 Highlights

The @Hurricanesrugby needed 10 tries to see off the @NSWWaratahs on Friday night, as Super Rugby Trans Tasman served up a 17-try shootout in Sydney.#SuperRugbyTT #WARvHUR pic.twitter.com/LulSssUJrv

— Super Rugby (@SuperRugby) May 14, 2021

The Highlanders' victory completed a double for the New Zealand franchises after the Reds were beaten 40-19 in the other fixture.

Ash Dixon scored a try in each half at Forsyth Barr Stadium following an early score from Scott Gregory. Sio Tomkinson, Liam Coltman and Ngatungane Punivai also went over.

Suliasi Vunivalu claimed a brace of tries but the new Super Rugby AU champions came back down to earth with a bump following their title triumph.

The Waratahs failed to avoid the ignominy of a winless Super Rugby AU campaign as they fell to a 36-25 loss to the Rebels.

A miserable 0-8 record was confirmed on Saturday as the Tahs were beaten by the Australian conference's second-bottom side, despite the Rebels having two men sent off in Sydney.

It took just 33 seconds for the hosts to get that sinking feeling as Stacey Ili touched down after collecting Matt Toomua's precise cross-field kick.

To their credit, the Tahs promptly hit back with a pair of Ben Donaldson penalties to suggest a close contest may be on the cards.

Even after Michael Wells' converted try restored some comfort for the Rebels, the dismissal of Isi Naisarani for a high tackle handed the home side fresh impetus.

Mark Nawaqanitawase and Jack Maddocks both dotted down to capitalise, with the Rebels clinging to a 21-18 half-time lead after a brace of Toomua three-pointers.

The visitors made light of their numerical disadvantage, Rob Leota diving over off the back of a maul, although Carlo Tizzano was quick to respond with a try of his own.

That proved to be the Tahs' last score, though, and the Rebels added gloss through Toomua's penalty and a late Matt Gibbon try.

There was still time for Pone Fa'amausili to see red for a driving his shoulder into the head of Max Douglas, but the 13 men saw out the remainder of the game without further incident.

Domingo Miotti was the hero for Western Force as the Waratahs were denied a first win of the Super Rugby Australia season, with the home side snatching a 31-30 success.

Miotti converted Jordan Olowofela's try in the closing stages, but it still appeared the excellent kicking of Ben Donaldson – making his first start – would be enough to guide the Waratahs to victory.

Yet presented with a line-out and the opportunity to kick the ball into touch to mark full time, the Waratahs turned the ball over, giving the Force one last chance.

It was an opportunity they seized on, with 20 phases of play resulting in a penalty which Miotti sent through the posts and completed the turnaround for the Force, who were 30-21 down with 10 minutes remaining.

While the Waratahs stay bottom on three points, the Force are in third place, three points ahead of the Rebels in the hunt for a semi-final play-off.

The Crusaders suffered a surprise first defeat of the Super Rugby Aotearoa season as the Highlanders cruised to a 33-12 victory.

The defending champions did the double over the Highlanders in last season's competition, but the form book was turned on its head on Friday.

It was only a second win in five matches for the Highlanders, who defeated the league leaders through 18 points from the boot of Mitch Hunt.

Billy Harmon, Michael Collins, Connor Garden-Bachop crossed for the Highlanders, who are a point behind the second-placed Blues having played a game more.

Meanwhile, in Super Rugby AU, the Waratahs suffered their sixth straight defeat but came agonisingly close to a draw with the league-leading Brumbies in their first game since Rob Penney's sacking.

Interim coaches Jason Gilmore and Chris Whitaker saw plenty of fight from their winless side, who staged an admirable second-half fightback having trailed 24-10 at the break.

Will Harrison converted his own try to trim the gap to seven points with under a quarter of an hour to play.

The Brumbies saw Rory Scott sin-binned with six minutes left and, after Tom Cusack was sent off with the clock red, James Ramm went over following a scrum metres out from the line, offering Harrison the chance to clinch a share of the spoils.

But Harrison could not split the uprights with his conversion attempt as the Waratahs suffered a 24-22 loss and more misery in a dismal campaign.

The Reds thrashed Waratahs 46-14 to maintain their perfect start to the Super Rugby AU season and return to the top of the standings.

Substitute Alex Mafi's second-half hat-trick helped seal an emphatic victory for the leaders, who had not beaten the Waratahs in Sydney in eight years.

Will Harrison kicked three penalties for the hosts in the first half, but the Reds responded through tries from Tate McDermott, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto and Filipo Daugunu.

Taniela Tupou crossed over early in the second half to extend the Reds' lead and, while Will Harris touched down to give Waratahs a temporary reprieve, their opponents soon ran away with the game.

Mafi, brought on at the interval, scored the first of his three tries with a little over an hour played and added two more before full-time, either side of Hugh Sinclair and Zane Nonggorr being sin-binned for separate offences.

The Super Rugby Aotearoa clash between Chiefs and Blues earlier on Saturday was a lot tighter, with Damian McKenzie snatching a famous 15-12 win for the hosts in the final minute.

Akira Ioane found a way through 24 minutes in for the only score of the first half of what turned out to be a thrilling contest in Hamilton.

But the Chiefs, who had gone 11 matches without a Super Rugby win before beating Hurricanes last weekend, hit back through McKenzie's penalty and a Samisoni Taukei'aho try, the hooker grounding the ball in the midst of a maul of players.

That lead lasted just a few minutes, however, as Tom Robinson charged clear and dotted down for the Blues' second try, which Otere Black was unable to add to from the conversion.

And that would prove a costly miss as, with less than a minute to go, McKenzie rounded off a fine counter-attack and brushed himself down to add the extras for a memorable victory that lifts Chiefs up to third, now within two points of their opponents.

Matt Toomua contributed 18 points as the Rebels piled more misery on the winless Waratahs in a 33-14 victory at AAMI Park.

New South Wales are bottom of the pile in Super Rugby AU with just a single point, although they belatedly showed some fight on Friday.

All 14 visiting points came in the final five minutes, but a rare fast Melbourne start had long since taken the game away from the Waratahs, who have now equalled their worst Super Rugby run against Australian opposition with four straight defeats.

The Rebels had conceded just one first-half try in the 2021 competition, the fewest of any team, but also scored only one. By the break on Friday, they had crossed twice more.

Toomua kicked the first points from the tee after five minutes and the breakthrough try soon followed as Lachie Anderson crashed over from close range.

There were two more penalties from the boot of Toomua, before the fly-half ended the opening 40 minutes with a superb solo try, chasing his own kick to cross in the corner.

With Melbourne comfortable, their star performer was replaced after 51 minutes and Reece Hodge assumed kicking duties, adding a fourth penalty prior to Jordan Uelese touching down in what appeared a routine second half.

The result was never in doubt - a third Rebels win in four against the Waratahs - but NSW enjoyed some late cheer at least, twice picking apart their opponents for Jeremy Williams and Jack Maddocks to score in quick succession.

Ryan Lonergan's sensational kick after the siren sealed a 27-24 win for the Brumbies over the Rebels on Saturday.

The replacement scrum-half set up Tom Banks for a late try before scoring the winning penalty four minutes into additional time.

The unbeaten Super Rugby AU champions trailed 12-10 at half-time and had captain Allan Alaalatoa sent off for dangerous play moments before the interval.

However, the Rebels could only get on the scoreboard through immaculate kicking from Matt To'omua as they failed to turn their man advantage into tries.

To'omua kicked four penalties to give the Rebels their lead at the break after Len Ikitau's 20th-minute try following a Noah Lolesio grubber.

A penalty try handed the home side a boost eight minutes into the second half, but it looked as though ill-discipline would prove their undoing as To'omua's faultless kicking gave the Rebels the edge.

Then came Lonergan's divine intervention. Banks received his clever pass and dived beneath the posts, with Lonergan's conversion making it 24-21.

To'omua's eighth penalty of the contest levelled the scores with four minutes to go, only for Lonergan to have the final say, launching the winning kick through the posts from distance to spark wild celebrations in the nearby dugout.

The Brumbies stay top of the table and have now won 18 of their past 19 home games.

In the opening contest of the weekend, the Western Force likewise had to survive with 14 men on Friday as the visitors held firm to beat the Waratahs 20-16 in Sydney.

Hooker Dave Porecki's fifth-minute try and eight points from the boot of Will Harrison gave the home side a 13-0 lead, but that advantage was cut to three points in the space of four minutes, Jake McIntyre converting Fergus Lee-Warner's score before kicking a penalty.

Tim Anstee snuck over the whitewash but the Force were left with a battle on their hands after Andrew Ready saw red for swinging a punch during an off-the-ball clash.

Harrison squeezed over a penalty to cut the deficit to a point with seven minutes left, but Ian Prior stretched the lead to four in the closing moments as the Force saw out their first win since 2017.

Mackenzie Hansen crossed for a hat-trick as the Brumbies ran in nine tries to thrash the Waratahs 61-10 in a lopsided Super Rugby AU clash at GIO Stadium in Canberra. 

The hosts made it 17 wins in 18 games at home, scoring 35 points without reply in the second half of proceedings. 

Waratahs actually opened the scoring through a Will Harrison penalty, yet Rob Valetini, Hansen, Noah Lolesio and Connal McInerney all grabbed tries to make it 26-10 to the hosts at the interval. 

Harry Johnson-Holmes had gone over for a score after 30 minutes that Harrison also converted, yet the overwhelmed Waratahs were ripped apart after the break. 

Wing Hansen crossed again in the 56th minute before completing his treble with nine minutes remaining. There were also tries for Nic White, Lachlan Lonergan and Tom Banks, while Lolesio kicked five conversions to give the fly-half a personal haul of 15 points. 

Replacement Ryan Lonergan took over kicking duties to land three conversion attempts following his introduction, helping the Brumbies claim their biggest ever win over their domestic rivals. It is also their biggest margin of victory in a Super Rugby fixture over a fellow Australian team.