Halfback Genia leads way in toughness stakes

GREG GROWDEN CHIEF RUGBY CORRESPONDENT
July 13, 2010

WILL GENIA yesterday showed the spirit the Wallabies require to be a Tri Nations threat - having an operation on his broken thumb in the morning, training in the afternoon and declaring he is ready to take on the Springboks and All Blacks.

The Wallabies halfback was a late arrival at the Tri Nations squad's first training session yesterday but he had a good excuse. He had just flown in from Brisbane, where he had two pins removed from his fractured right thumb several hours earlier.

That operation did not deter the Australian playmaker, as he was soon on Coogee Oval doing most of the work. The only sign he was returning from injury was a heavily strapped right thumb.

At the end of training, Genia declared that, despite missing the win against Ireland in Brisbane last month because of the fracture, he would be ready for the Wallabies' match against South Africa at Suncorp Stadium on July 24.

Much will hinge on a Brisbane club game on Saturday, but Genia believes he is ready to regain his Test halfback spot.

''I've been working hard the past three weeks, running every day,'' he said last night. ''Trust me, I've been busting my gut. I'll be good. I know I'll be good. I know my body.''

Genia is further buoyed by his specialist yesterday giving him the all-clear to play, even though his operation prompted some jitters. Asked if he required stitches, Genia said: ''No, they just left open wounds on me. I've just got a big band-aid over the top of them. I wanted stitches. I wanted to be put out and everything, so I didn't see the pins taken out. And when they came out, they looked like big nails.''

As encouraging was the sight of prop Benn Robinson and hooker Stephen Moore again involved in training, as was winger Digby Ioane, who, due to his dislocated shoulder, is expected back for the following Test against the All Blacks at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne on July 31.

Robinson and Moore, both returning from long absences, will play club football on Saturday before making their Test return in Brisbane. Fellow front-rower Tatafu Polota-Nau played club football last Saturday but has opted to have an operation on his damaged ankle and will not be available until the end-of-season northern hemisphere tour.

Ioane, meanwhile, is hoping to at last play a Tri Nations match, as his 11 international appearances have all been in other fixtures. His one appearance against the All Blacks, last year, was in Tokyo, an end-of-season match after the Tri Nations.

The main topic of conversation when the Wallabies assembled yesterday was the All Blacks' 32-12 defeat of the Springboks in Auckland on Saturday. Genia and second-rower Nathan Sharpe explained that the Wallabies had learnt a lot from the game.

''The All Blacks just beat the Springboks at their own game,'' Genia said. ''They nullified the Springboks' tactic of just kicking and getting a good chase line. Mils Muliaina was good at the back for the All Blacks, and they bashed them for 80 minutes. They just didn't let up, and that told in the result. We have to match them physically and beat them at their own game.''

Sharpe added: ''What was quite obvious from the All Blacks was their lack of mistakes, which kept the pressure on the Springboks. The Springboks do really well in putting pressure on and waiting for mistakes. But the All Blacks didn't make them.''