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Will Genia says winning the Bledisloe is the “pinnacle” and puts it above lifting the World Cup.
Asked what it would mean to pick up the trophy with victory over the All Blacks, Genia responded emphatically – “everything”.
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“I can only speak from my personal point of view and for me, I’d have to say it’s the pinnacle”, the scrum half said.
“The World Cup is obviously up there, but how often do you get to play the best team in the world three times and have to win two out of three to win a trophy?”
His record against New Zealand is pretty bleak, with just three wins in 20 matches, “I’ve been trying for a while now so really looking forward to another crack.”
“I will say for me it’s the number one priority because they are the best team in the world for the last 15-20 years, back-to-back World Cup winners. You have to beat them two times out of three to win that trophy, so for me that makes it incredibly difficult and also will make it incredibly special if we’re fortunate enough to do it.”
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Meanwhile Kurtley Beale has backed Reece Hodge to start at outside centre for Australia on Saturday as the Wallabies look to record back-to-back wins over New Zealand.
Hodge has emerged as the frontrunner for the number 13 shirt after Michael Cheika left Curtis Rona out of his squad for the Rugby Championship opener in Sydney.
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The 23-year-old is not the only option in midfield, though, with Israel Folau also a possibility, but Beale believes Hodge – who scored the winning penalty against the All Blacks in October – should get the nod.
“Reece is obviously a very versatile player and I’m sure if given an opportunity will step up and do a fine job,” Beale said.
“Israel’s obviously played there during Super Rugby as well and I’m sure he’ll be able to get the job done as well.
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“I’m pretty confident that whoever we put in that position they’ll be pretty keen to get out there and express themselves and get the job done for the team.”
#BREAKING l The #Wallabies squad ahead of the opening #BledisloeCup Test at @ANZStadium.
READ: https://t.co/14si5PrQhj
TICKETS: https://t.co/lJcS2Ksx1e#BledisloeCup #AUSvNZL pic.twitter.com/JJpnTBlSmI
— Wallabies (@wallabies) August 12, 2018
Hodge remains in the dark about his chances and knows things could easily change in the coming days as Australia step up their preparations.
“There’s still a few guys in the squad who can play 13,” he said. “Izzy’s [Folau] still an option as well.
“At the moment, throughout the preparation, the last few weeks have been about trying as many combinations we can to get comfortable playing next to everyone who’s in the squad and I think it’s going to be really important for us come game one.
“Cheika’s still got a week to change his mind about selections, so who knows, but we’re prepared as best we can be for Saturday.”
Whoever starts for Australia will come up against an All Blacks side without Sonny Bill Williams, but Beale says that makes little difference given the strength in depth Steve Hansen has at his disposal.
“The All Blacks are a world class team, they’re the number one team in the world for a reason. Whoever they put in any position they step up and get the job done,” he added.
“The big focus has been on us at the moment. We’re well aware of the capabilities they’ll bring on the weekend, but we know that if we have a full focus on what we want to deliver out there that will allow us to get the result that we want.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Who's Jarrad Hohepa?
1 Go to commentsSo let me get this straight. Say you have the dominant scrum. You are 99% sure you can go for a scrum pushover try on the line to win the game. The opposition knows it too. They give away a silly tap kick instead. You are now not allowed to scrum. This is ridiculous! *%@ing the game up as usual! The fact that the attacking teams are not allowed to scrum from a held up over the line is just as ridiculous. Really world rugby? Careful people might start a rebel league called True Rugby or Real Rugby.
72 Go to comments12 subs during a game? How has that been allowed to happen NB? I hate when the game goes in this monopolistic direction closing up shop, it just becomes non sport. Btw have you seen anything of how Liam Coltman was tracking for Lyon? He has just signed to return to Otago though we have a couple of young hookers developing here. He was a popular gentle natured character down here and I’m glad to see him back but maybe he will be a mentor primarily?
4 Go to commentsGreat breakdown and the global politics always confuses me a little. The southern hemisphere seems to be left out a bit but I wouldn’t even know where to start with fixing it. Club challenge could be a step in the right direction
4 Go to commentsSince he coached Free state, from that time onwards, I maintained he was the coach for the Boks. A nice, no nonsense guy with an excellent brain, who gets results.
11 Go to commentswell - they only played against 14 men and had the TMO team on their side - and still should have lost… so actually that makes sense.
32 Go to commentsSouthern hemisphere Rugby is exactly that, boring. Northern Hemisphere Rugby is soooo much more entertaining and better with better players.
2 Go to commentsIf he was to be cited for a dangerous behavior, then it’s natural that he should be. Then NTamack too, yes? And I’ll add a good whataboutism - Yeandle eye-gouging on Richie Arnold: not cited. Eye-gouging. Not high tackle. Eye-gouging. It was on French TV, with French TV directors.
5 Go to commentsReally poorly written rambling piece ..
4 Go to commentsIt was so boring
2 Go to commentspersonally I’d go with : 1. France 2. NZ 3. England 4. Ireland 5. Scotland
32 Go to commentsAndy everything becomes easier with experience therefor counting etc straight after a match becomes easier when you have 100+ caps vs 17 which is the experience you speak from.
160 Go to commentsGetting rid of the Dupont Law is a good thing and ought to have been done months ago! Officially getting rid of the croc roll is a good thing. The law about no scrums from a short arm is well intended in terms of speeding the game up but it’s an overreaction to a clever yet calculated gamble that could have blow up in South Africa’s face if they conceded a penalty from the scrum that was set after Willemse took claimed the mark in the World Cup QF.
72 Go to commentsRassie The GOAT
11 Go to commentsOf their 5 big matches in RWC Scotland and NZ were the easiest. They took a 12-3 lead against NZ and after the red decided it was best to hold the lead and take chances that came. None came and it was tight but they dug a lot deeper in the other two knock out matches. They had trounced NZ in Twickenham in a fixture that NZ must now regret. Psychology was clearly with SA in the final as a result.
32 Go to commentsMy favourite line/exchanges from Chasing the Sun 2. News headline: “SA. The last hurdle in ABs World Cup glory”. Something like that. “You’re all just a hurdle. A hop, skip and a jump”. Coming from Rassie and Jacque. Basically - nobody thinks you’re going to win. You’re just a pushover team. Nobody respects you. When the camera shows the players faces, you can see the effect. You can see the rev meters (die moer metertjies) firing up. Mitchell said he felt it prior to the 19 final. He said to Eddie watching the teams warming up that it was going to be a tough day at the office. Wave a red flag in front of South African, and you can expect a reaction. This is not unique - many teams rev themselves. And Bok teams in particular. With horrific consequences (discipline, poor thinking under pressure) because that’s the drawback to using emotion right? But what this Bok team does better than many since 2007 is channel the emotion and stay on task. Despite the emotion. Why, because while Rassie might play mind games - he talks about creating a safe environment. Listen to his recent honorary doctorate acceptance speech. While he uses psychology he creates psychological safety. He’s a damn fine coach. Can’t wait for Pretoria. It’s going to be a hummer.
11 Go to commentsWhat Rassie does for SA is big. It has helped people to unite and see we can win with the right people in place.
11 Go to commentsTerrible conditions for young players to express themselves just enjoy it guys. As a saffa great to see Ausie youth looking good. Wow SA have some great talent also.
2 Go to commentsYes, another example of French tv directors ensuring that incidents like this are swiftly glossed over for the benefit of their teams…
5 Go to commentsThe prospect of the club match ups across hemispheres is surely appetising for everyone. The reality however, may prove to be slightly different. There are currently two significant driving forces that have delivered to same teams consistently to the latter champions cup stages for years now. The first of those is the yawning gap in finances, albeit delivered by different routes. In France it’s wealthy private owners operating with a higher salary cap by some distance compared to England. In Ireland it’s led by a combination of state tax relief support, private Leinster academy funding and IRFU control - the provincial budgets are not equal! This picture is not going to change anytime soon. The second factor is the EPCR competition rules. You don’t need a PhD. in advanced statistical analysis from oxbridge to see the massive advantage bestowed upon the home team through every ko round of the tournament. The SA teams will gain the opportunity for home ko ties in due course but that could actually polarise the issue even further, just look at their difficulties playing these ties in Europe and then reverse them for the opposition travelling to SA. Other than that, the picture here is unlikely to change either, with heavyweight vested interests controlling the agenda. So what does all this point to for the club world championship? Well the financial differential between the nh and sh teams is pretty clear. And the travel issues and sporting challenge for away teams are significantly exacerbated beyond those already seen in the EPCR tournaments. So while the prospect of those match ups may whet our rugby appetites, I’m very much still to be convinced the reality will live up to expectations…
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