Giteau sought
The Wallabies are battling to get Matt Giteau free to face the All Blacks in the Bledisloe Cup opener as his French club play tough over the star second-five’s availability. Giteau has been absent as the bulk of the Wallabies squad began their Rugby Championship preparations in Sydney this week. Giteau has remained in France to start training with Toulon where owner Mourad Boudjellal has maintained a hardlined stance over his international stars playing test rugby.Australian Rugby reported on their website that Toulon were ‘‘putting a major spanner in the Wallabies’ tournament plans’’. With an annual wage reported to be around $1.9m a season, there is obvious angst over Giteau by a club desperate to return to the winner’s circle in the looming season.