Wallabies halfback Will Genia says he is enjoying the added competition in national camp this year after the return of a more confident Nic White to the fold.
The competition for the no. 9 spot is as tight as it has been in recent years, with capped Wallabies Genia, Nick Phipps, Jake Gordon and Joe Powell all putting in solid Super Rugby seasons.
White has been plying his trade with England powerhouse Exeter for the past two seasons but signed a deal with Rugby Australia to be eligible for the Wallabies at the World Cup.
Reds halfback Tate McDermott had also been talked about as a potential bolter but it seems unlikely he would be considered for this World Cup.
The quartet of Genia, Phipps, Gordon and White have been in camp together now for the better part of a week with Powell likely to link up with them once the Brumbies return from Argentina.
For much of the past four years Genia has been the standout first-picked when fit, coming off the bench only in just two Tests since 2015, and Phipps has most often been his deputy.
The addition of White as well as Powell and Gordon's form creates some major headaches for the Wallabies selectors but Genia said it was only a good thing for the players.
"Everyone has been playing good rugby throughout the season so the competitive element comes into training when we go head-to-head with each other, wanting to be the best you can be and just competing at everything that we do," he said.
"I think it brings out the best in everyone, regardless of whether you view it differently, and I'm enjoying the challenge.
"I'm enjoying the different challenge. I've been fortunate to have been a part of the 2011 World Cup, 2015 World Cup and I'm a little bit older now and part of this group so hopefully I can keep competing with everybody else and keep pushing for a sport."
You'd have to be a brave person to bet against Genia being a part of the World Cup squad but he said looking back at 2015 was enough to remind him how quickly things could change.
“It's funny when you look back at 2015 - the year before 2014, Phippsy was the starting halfback and I was injured pretty much the entire time and then 2015, I played 40 minutes in the Rugby Championship because I was picked to start in the first Test and then I hurt my knee before half-time and then I didn't play the remainder of the Rugby Championship at all,” he said.
“I played 40 minutes and then end up getting picked and ended up starting in the World Cup all the games.
“For me when I look back at it, I didn't think I was going to get picked, I really didn't, because I didn't play.”
Given that experience, for Genia there’s a sense that anyone can push their way up or down the ladder when it came to selection.
“I didn't play in any of those competitions so I guess now coming into the camp here, I don't really see it as there being a pecking order or anything like that,” he said.
“I'm not exactly sitting here sweating on wanting to get picked and whatever, I'm just really enjoying it.
“I'm enjoying the competition, I'm enjoying training, I'm enjoying working hard and at the end of the day, if you get picked, you get picked and you go on and you do the job.
“So, I'm sure Whitey will think of it differently, Phippsy will think of it differently, Jake as well, but that's just my take on it.”
White’s arrival has been much talked about and the former Brumby said on the weekend there was still plenty he wanted to prove at a national level.
Genia said the biggest change in his former Test teammate, though, was his assuredness.
“I think he's the same competitive guy that he always was, I think he's just a bit more sure of himself and his game,” he said.
“He's obviously gone away and played in a successful team with Exeter so he knows what he's good at, he understands what he's good at and he's more confident being himself as a player on the field and that's half the battle at the end of the day really, going out there and just trusting your game and he certainly trusts his game at the moment.”
The Wallabies group, minus the Brumbies who are still coming back from Argentina, have been in camp for the better part of a week now, and Genia said there was a sense of “nervous energy” coming through in training as the World Cup neared.
“I think everyone's really excited, there's a nervous sense of energy because everyone understands it's a big year with the Rugby World Cup,” he said.
“I guess that nervous sense of energy sort of transforms itself into enthusiasm around training.
“Guys are ripping in, working hard, understanding that everybody's got to be in the best possible shape to put their best foot forward in terms of selection and playing well in the lead-up to obviously getting announced in that World Cup squad."
Australia’s squad to travel to South Africa will be announced on Wednesday, ahead of their Sunday departure.
