WHERE THERE’S A WALLABY WILL THERE’S A SPRAY
FIERY halfback Will Genia has revealed he was the player behind the blistering halftime spray against Argentina a fortnight ago, but in the return match this week he will be making his point prior to kick-off.
The Wallabies trailed 13-10 against the Pumas in Canberra after being bullied at the breakdown, but prevailed 45-20 after Genia’s stinging verbal blast.
Coach Michael Cheika said after that match he hadn’t needed to give a halftime rev-up because the leadership group had done that, though no player was publicly singled out.
However, after arriving in Buenos Aires from South Africa – where Australia drew 27-all with the hosts – vicecaptain Genia said he was behind the talk in Canberra.
“I was the one doing the spraying – I was having a red hot crack,” Genia said.
“Just about the breakdown, because we spoke about that as an area that they were going to come at off the back of the Boks giving it to us in Perth.
“That was my messaging, and I really went at the boys
“In terms of solving that moving forward, since then I have been trying to get around individuals in the warm-up making sure they know that’s what I expect from them.
“That’s what I want. That’s what, as a team, we need and putting that responsibility on the forwards to make sure they deliver. With the way that we play the game, if they can deliver that for us and give us that platform, more often than not we are going to win games because of them, not because of individual brilliance in the backs or things like that.
“If you look at the times we have played well, it’s about them carrying well up the middle and giving us good, clean, quick ball and the backs taking advantage of whatever space it creates.”
Genia said it was one of the most savage sprays he had given in his career.