Scott Sio will line up in the number one jersey on Saturday.
Wallabies prop Scott Sio knows he will be fit to face New Zealand on Saturday because he wouldn’t be able to face his teammates if he wasn’t.
Despite fighting against time to recover from an elbow haematoma for the semi-final, when Sio knew he wasn’t right, he didn’t keep up a fitness facade despite the stakes.
“These injuries are all about being honest with yourself and the team,” he said.
“If you don’t believe you’ve got to let them know and put the right things in process.
“I told them (this week) I was good to go if he selected me there and I’ve been given a great opportunity.”
It’s a mindset that means the 24-year-old is entirely confident in his condition ahead of the final and he will embrace the opportunity with two hands.
“It was.a bitter pill to swallow last week, obviously not being able to have any impact on the match physically and having to sit in the stands and wait on every minute, every moment of the game,” he said..
“Early on (I thought) I won’t be ready and I wouldn’t want to put the team in that position.
“Luckily the team went so well and I’ve got another opportunity to represent my country in a grand final.”
Sio said he wasn’t happy with his performance against Scotland, which was prematurely ended, and that was driving him this week.
“Like we said, you’re only as good as your last scrum,” he said.
“For myself it was a disappointing outing against Scotland and something I want to rectify.
“We had a great session yesterday in both sessions and we’re good to go. The guys are really banding around each other and really looking forward to the weekend.”
Sio has cemented the number one loosehead spot over the past 12 months and he said Wallabies coach Michael Cheika had created an environment where second-guessing was not an option.
“I always aspired to it (playing in a World Cup),’he said.
“I think you have to and coming into an environment that Cheik likes to build, you’ve got to have 100 per cent belief and be 100 per cent committed to that.”
Sio said the enormity of the occasion probably wouldn't hit him until Saturday after a relatively low-key week where the Wallabies have kept their approach pretty consistent.
“I think Cheik’s been really great with the off field stuff... keeping it pretty low key, the calm before the storm.
“I think we’ve been in this environment so long it’s become second nature to us.
“All the recovery, all the training and so forth won’t sort of hit you until Saturday.
“Once you get to the ground you see all the fans and you go out before the warm up, that’s when it’s really going to hit you.”
