Team man Giteau driven by Wallabies’ lack of trophies

Blissfully content off the field and thriving again on it, Wallabies trump Matt Giteau has revealed the the great disappointment driving his stellar career.

From a tryscoring hat-trick in his maiden Test start in 2003 to the buzz of being named Wallabies’s player of the year last month – and countless pointscoring records in between – Giteau has achieved virtually every meaningful individual honour in Australian rugby.

But what the 27-year-old craves are the ultimate team trophies – the World Cup, Bledisloe Cup and Tri Nations crown – and he says he won’t rest until he gets his hand on one.

“That’s why I play rugby – for the team rewards and the team accolades and I’ll be playing til I’m 40 if I still haven’t got one,” Giteau told AAP on the eve of Australia’s grand slam showdown with Ireland at Dublin’s Croke Park on Sunday.

“To not have any of those trophies, especially after coming so close at the World Cup in 2003, that’s what drives me.

“It’s why I still love the game and still have so much passion for the game. Even this tour alone is an opportunity.”

Giteau – tipped to be on the shortlist for the IRB’s world player of the year award – says guiding the Wallabies to a grand slam sweep over England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales would be the highlight of his career and help ease the pain.

A recent heart-to-heart with two-time World Cup-winning legend John Eales rammed home to Giteau the significance of this year’s spring tour, which marks the 25th anniversary of the Wallabies’s one and only grand slam march through the UK and Ireland.

“He never even got the opportunity to do the grand slam. Not so much that he didn’t fulfil it in a tour, but he didn’t even get the opportunity,” Giteau said.

“So I understand the importance of this tour and how much it means not only to us, but to the history of Australian rugby.

“You look at the guys from ‘84 and they’re still spoken about for that tour.

“But I don’t want to keep saying it, but you can’t look past each game.

“Obviously if we keep winning and we keep building momentum going into the last game, we can then focus on it.

“But, at this point, we can only really focus on Ireland.”

It has been the most tumultuous of years for Giteau.

In addition to winning the John Eales Medal, Australian rugby’s highest-paid player was engaged in May to netballer Bianca Franklin – the sister of AFL superstar Buddy Franklin – and set an Australian pointscoring record during a mixed Tri Nations campaign.

Then, in a double blow, he was overlooked for a Wallabies leadership role – with coach Robbie Deans appointing new golden boys Rocky Elsom and Berrick Barnes as his tour captain and deputy – while also facing the prospect of losing his prized No.10 jumper to Barnes as well.

The single most influential player in the Wallabies ranks, Giteau had every right to feel slighted, but insists he’s now over the snubbing.

“There was a lot made of it, but I don’t worry too much about it,” Giteau said.

“The less you worry about it, the less it bothers you. For me, when it initially happened, I didn’t know too much about it and I’d not spoken to Robbie.

“He told me his reasons for it and I was happy with it. I saw the reasoning behind it and straight away you become supportive of the guys that he’s appointed.”

Giteau has since assumed the vice-captaincy anyway, after Barnes’s tour-ending ankle injury sustained in Tokyo training before Australia’s Bledisloe Cup loss to New Zealand.

“It was unfortunate because the way that myself and Berrick were not only training but also off the field, the leadership that he was providing, he was going great,” Giteau said.

“So to have him injured that way was disappointing.”

Giteau says the plan was for he and Barnes to alternate between five-eighth and inside centre throughout the tour, just as he did, with good success, with Quade Cooper against England last Saturday.

“There’s certain things that Quade does better than I do when he’s at 10 and other things that I may do better than him,” he said.

“There’s certain opportunities or certain moves where I’ll move to inside centre and it’s just like going back to old times. I feel just as comfortable there as well. You complement each other.

“So the fact that you’re moved there doesn’t change much. I think it’s just because both issues came around at the same time that a lot was made of it.

“For me, my whole objective, it’s all about those team goals and team awards; you do whatever’s best for the team.

“So, if the team’s best served with me not being even starting, then obviously you’ve got to go with it.”

Not that such a scenario is likely to arise any time soon, with Giteau unquestionably the most important player in Australia’s grand slam quest.

A self-confessed harsh marker, Giteau is happy with his form – despite controversially remarking after winning the John Eales Medal that maybe he needs to continue playing poorly if that’s what brings such big awards.

“Individually, there’s certain things in my game that I was doing quite well during the Tri Nations,” he said. “But, in my position, I base it around the team’s performance.

“So I feel, being one of the key drivers, that if the team’s not performing, I’m not doing my role as efficiently as I would like.

“I still felt I was playing okay football, but I certainly didn’t think I was playing my best football of my career.

“So to win a massive award like the John Eales Medal was more just overwhelming. I was probably a little bit too negative in the acceptance speech.

“But, as a whole, I’ve been reasonably satisfied with my performances and certainly on this tour I’ve felt I’ve played much better.”

A young veteran of two World Cups already, Giteau is undecided about his future beyond the 2011 edition in New Zealand.

He turned down a million-dollar offer last year to play in France and hasn’t ruled out staying in Australia, despite widespread speculation he will pursue the big bucks available in Europe and Japan.

“It’s tough to say now,” he said.

“The way I’m feeling now, I still feel I’ve got a lot to offer Australian rugby.

“If I still feel the same – and not only still feel like I’ve got a lot to offer but I actually am offering and I’ve got something to give to the game in Australia – then I’ll continue to play.

“But if I feel I’m a little bit off and I’m not as driven as I used to be, then there’s no point hanging around.”

For the moment, life’s good for Giteau, who is excited about returning home to Canberra to reunite with the Brumbies next season and to be closer to his tight-knit family.

His older sister Kristy this year joined Giteau as a rugby international after debuting for the Wallaroos.

“She’s trying to steal my limelight a bit,” he said. “I’m obviously very proud of her.

“There’s certain little things when you’re playing for Australian rugby – where you get your first Test cap or you’re first Test jumper – that are quite important and you are the only one who knows how it feels.

“So the fact that she got the opportunity to got to experience something that I got to experience makes it so special.”

Giteau is also very much looking forward to his wedding, most likely next year, but says he and Franklin have no desire to challenge Michael Clarke and Lara Bingle as Australia’s highest-profile celebrity sporting couple.

“No, I’m happy being low-key,” he said.

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