Kurtley Beale is honoured to have landed the first audition for the Wallabies' hotly-contested fullback role and will be out to make the position his own on Saturday night.

Coach Robbie Deans has opted for Beale over a host of worthy candidates for the No.15 jumper - including classy incumbent Adam Ashley-Cooper - for Australia's season-opening Test against Fiji in Canberra.

The versatile Ashley-Cooper, who played all four Tests at fullback on the Wallabies' grand slam tour last November, along with James O'Connor, Peter Hynes and Drew Mitchell are queuing up to be Australia's custodian in the countdown to next year's World Cup in New Zealand.

But, having converted Beale from midfield playmaker to back-three raider on the spring tour, Deans is eager to see how the 21-year-old former schoolboy prodigy handles the step up to the Test arena.

"He has really flourished," Deans told AAP on Wednesday.

"He has that rare talent of being able to see things and, as a result, being able to anticipate.

"So he's enjoyed that little bit of extra time and space and the ability to inject himself as opposed to always being at the coal face and having the onus of making decisions for the team.

"So this is a great opportunity for Kurtley." Beale is relishing the chance to make his Test run-on debut alongside the likes of attacking aces Matt Giteau, Quade Cooper, Ashley-Cooper, Digby Ioane and NSW teammate Rob Horne.

"With the players around me, it's just going to be an unbelievable experience," Beale said.

"Yeah, I'm very honoured to get the call-up, very shocked. There's a lot of depth in the position so I've got to make the most of it, play the best I can and play it right.

"Obviously playing fullback has certainly opened doors for me. I really enjoy the extra freedom and seeing a lot of space at the back and just playing off the cuff and relying on instinct.

"So hopefully I can do that this week. But I can't overdo it. I have to play within our strategy."

Deans admitted Beale's scheduled appearance at Mt Druitt Local Court on Monday on a common assault charge influenced his selection thinking, with the Waratahs utility unavailable for Tuesday night's Australian Barbarians clash with touring England in Perth.

But the coach said Beale nevertheless deserved a Test start after scoring two tries from fullback and the wing in his two previous appearances for the Wallabies, in mid-week fixtures against Gloucester and Cardiff on the spring tour.

Along with Beale and Horne, hooker Huia Edmonds and prop Salesi Ma'afu will also start for the Wallabies for the first time, while reserve back-rower Matt Hodgson and replacement rake Saia Faingaa are also in line for their maiden Test caps.

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