Wallabies belief tested against Scotland

Mon, Oct 19, 2015, 1:00 AM
AAP
by AAP

Wallabies halfback Will Genia sat on the bench looking at the ground, waiting for a 77,110 strong crowd to tell him whether he would be back at Twickenham next week.

The Wallabies quarter-final win over Scotland was the sternest test of the side’s new found belief, every drop of which they had to draw on when they trailed by two points with a handful of minutes left.

As Bernard Foley lined up for the last-minute penalty shot that clinched the win, Genia could not watch.

“I had a big hoodie and I just put my head down and thought if I hear a really loud cheer, he’s missed and if I hear a little bit of a cheer, he’s got it,” he said.

“So I was really grateful that it was just a little bit of a cheer.”

After the match, Genia said relief was the prevailing feeling, with a week to prepare for another sudden-death match against Argentina.

“It’s a rollercoaster of emotions,” he said.

“You’re up, you’re down, you’re in the game ,you’re out of the game.

“I don’t know how to feel. Just relieved more than anything else and just so proud of the effort...and looking forward to another week being involved in the Rugby World Cup.”

Genia said the Wallabies had faith in the players out on the field despite the nervous final moments.

“As hair-raising as those sorts of moments can be, you’ve still got ot back yourself and believe in what you can do and collectively as a group,: he said.

“It was nerve-wracking for the guys sitting on the sideline but we had genuine belief in the guys who were on the field."

Wallabies lock Dean Mumm said the side’s leaders helped settle them in the final minutes, despite the high stakes.

“It was certainly very tough but the leaders on the field - Michael Hooper and those guys were quite composed under the posts,” he said.

“I think it was reasonably composed, as much as it could be in that situation I suppose.

“That was a pretty solid test, they sort of backed us into a corner.

“I’m very proud we got out of that situation and gave ourselves the opportunity to get the win.”

Genia’s replacement, Nick Phipps, said the challenges they had experienced against Wales, with two men down, and Scotland with the game in the balance, would help grow their belief.

“Being up against it the last two games has sort of shown what the group can do do and what we can do under adversity,” he said.

“We make sure that no matter what situation’s in front of us, we’ve just got to keep going.

“That’s what we’ve sort of built ourselves on these last two years to be able to come away from situations like that, where previously we probably would have folded."

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