Baby Brumby ready for baptism
MARK SMITH
You'd think that a 20-year-old with two Wallaby caps and a
string of international Sevens appearances to his credit might have a
lot to shout about. But Planet Rugby caught up with Brumby Matt
Giteau and found out that the reality is a much quieter affair.
A precocious talent at both youth and Sevens levels, previous
interviewers had warned of the hazards in dealing telephonically with
the player affectionately labelled a cheeky little bugger by Aussie
great Glen Ella.
Having been tipped off that his cellular exploits had to date
included hoax voicemail messages pretending that the caller had got a
crossed line, or that Giteau was actually there when it was in fact
an answerphone, the call from Planet Rugby is met with a deadly
silence when the phone is picked up. Two tries later and more of the
same, before a tentative last-ditch hello is met with an eventual
response from the youngster, who had been there all along.
As excuses go, the fact that he is lying on a bench having physio at
the time is a pretty good one, but once he gets going the charismatic
Canberra native certainly talks a good game, and according to all
accounts has been playing one for some time in the junior ranks and
in the abbreviated code.
One phonecall that might not have gotten the trademark comedy
treatment was that from Wallaby coach Eddie Jones, who threw a major
selection out of left-field when selecting the largely-untested
Giteau for his end-of-season tour to South America and Europe.
A tricky customer at fly-half, scrum-half and even in the centres,
Giteau was plucked from the Australia Sevens and Under-21 ranks
having been playing club rugby last season in addition to his time
with the Brumbies youth side.
"When Eddie Jones rang me and said, pack your bags mate, youre
coming on tour, it was a complete shock. Id not even imagined that it
could be a remote possibility," says Giteau. "In fact, that
week I was more worried about my club rugby, as my Canberra Vikings
side were in the Premiership Final of the Queensland state
competition."
Having been plucked from relative obscurity for the ultimately
traumatic Wallaby tour, replacement caps against England and then
Italy were his reward for impressing the coaches, although in the
more unfamiliar position of centre.
His U21 exploits in the World Cup in Johannesburg saw him largely at
scrum-half, with Brock James dominating the No.10 shirt, although
Giteau did come on as his replacement in the Final against eventual
winners South Africa, and played his club rugby there during the
Vikings successful campaign.
As for his rapid Test baptism at senior level, he says: "Coming
on at Twickenham against England was pretty daunting. I got about ten
minutes, and it was a tough game, so I was overwhelmed. It was great
to make my debut in such an important game, although I would liked to
have played a bit better. Against Italy the next week I cant even
remember how long I was on the pitch, it was all a bit of a blur, but
I enjoyed getting more time out there."
A shrinking violet Giteau is certainly not, as choosing motormouth
lock Justin Harrison as one of his tour room-mates will testify to -
but with the Australian rugby public yet to get a proper look at his
talents on the Super 12 stage first-hand, this season could be a key
one for a man weaned on rugby league, courtesy of his famous dad Ron.
"I guess you could say Im a leaguie. I played it all through my
youth, and was in the Canberra Raiders set-up until the age of about
15," he says, the famous Raiders club having boasted such recent
League legends as Mal Meninga and Laurie Daley, not to mention Giteau
senior, who moved young Matt to the capital only months after his
birth in Sydney, having signed for the Raiders after a stint in NSW.
Having gained international exposure on the IRB Sevens circuit,
Giteau junior is following the likes of South Africas Brent Russell
and André Pretorius in making the step into the Test arena via the
abbreviated code, and insists that the increasingly influential
Sevens scene has been key to his development.
"I played pretty much a whole year of Sevens, and enjoyed every
minute of it. Its a really good confidence booster, as it gives you a
chance to play in front of crowds all over the world, against some of
the best players on the planet, and theres obviously a lot more
space, so it helps attacking players like myself. It also gets you
noticed, and its a professional environment as well."
Giteaus considerable halfback skills can also translate to
scrum-half, where he played a lot of his junior rugby, although with
Wallaby duo Stephen Larkham and George Gregan currently monopolising
those positions, he is under no illusions as to how easy game time
will be to come by.
Added to that, he is also wary of what cynics might call the Austin
Healey syndrome where versatile backs more often than not find
themselves as bench players to cover a number of positions, while
failing to nail down a specific spot, a situation Toulouses Frédéric
Michalak can also sympathise with.
"Im only young, so it doesnt bother me too much," says
Giteau. "My aim for the season is really only to get in the
squad of 22 for the Super 12 games on a reasonably consistent basis.
Yeah, in the long run I want to nail down a specific position, but
Ive got stacks of time to worry about that."
With a backline including Gregan, Larkham, veteran centre Pat Howard,
returning wing Joe Roff and Stirling Mortlock to name but a few,
Giteau faces a steep learning curve as he aims to cement his squad
place for the World Cup.
An uncut gem with plenty of work ahead, the crafty youngster cannot
himself believe his speedy rise into the Australian games top
echelon, saying: "If youd asked me this time last year that I
would be capped by the Wallabies and sign full-time with the Brumbies
in the space of 12 months, Id have laughed in your face.
"Last season I was watching the games with my mates and enjoying
a beer with the fans. This year I’m going to be playing."
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(This article is 2 years old and I couldn't find a link
for it, but I thought it was interesting.)
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