THE INSIDER: Meet the real Sanchez Genia

Willy Genia is the most important player in Australian rugby. Just don’t tell him that! While Sanchez (his christian name) is like anyone else in that he enjoys adulation, he’s actually a lot quieter than you might expect.

Certainly less than the confident image he tries to project. Away from the team environment, Sanchez generally maintains a low profile.

He enjoys his own space, and disappears after training almost straight away most of the time.

When it comes to fronting as ‘the face’ of the team; Sanchez is comfortable taking up station behind James Horwill or Quade Cooper at the Reds, with the likes of Pocock and O’Connor added to that list when you are talking Wallabies.

It’s not that he doesn’t enjoy the attention, his reluctance more reflects a little bit of insecurity.

Believe it or not, Sanchez can actually be a bit intimidated in a social sense around other big names.

When Israel Folau attended the Wallabies logistics camp the other week, the first of the interstate players to zero in on the new recruit was one Sanchez Genia!

It was a good thing: Folau could have no better teacher!

You wouldn’t generally pick the quieter, more tentative, side of the Genia make up when he is out on the field.

While he might not always have the captaincy title, make no mistake; when the team is out there, Sanchez Genia is running the show!

You see it before games. Whether it is with the Reds or the Wallabies, Sanchez is the one in the middle of the on-field huddle, barking out all of the final instructions.

He effectively takes responsibility for the organisation of the game (the captaincy in all but name!) from this point, through until the final whistle.

The tale of this year’s Reds season is a prime example of that.

Before he returned from his knee injury; Queensland looked leaderless at times, played too much at its own end, and lacked the clarity and direction needed.

Sure, Queensland was still winning games, which a quality side can still do when all is not settled, but they were hardly showing the conviction of an outfit that was fielding players with Wallaby Test experience in most positions.

Throw Sanchez back into the mix and it has all changed, not only in the surety of the team’s on-field strategy but also its composure when under the pump.

Quade Cooper wasn’t the only Red who suddenly appeared to become a completely different player.

Think back to the Chiefs game in Hamilton where the Wallaby halfback had a blinder.

The Chiefs made an incredible 15 line-breaks to the Reds’ five, but Queensland put a lot of pressure on the Kiwis through their physicality at the break down and their general line-speed in defence.

This forced errors, and Sanchez was invariably at the heart of the response as the Reds profited.

When the Western Force ‘got’ to him last weekend, usually by holding him down or back illegally, the Queensland Reds battled.

It’s the same in the Test arena.

While the All Blacks (where he is not alone among the Wallabies!) are still to suffer the best of Sanchez on a consistent basis (memo New Zealand: your turn is coming!); he appears to have no such hang ups with anyone else.

South Africa are regularly tormented; he was man of the match the first time he played England at Twickenham, while at times it has looked like the Welsh could barely get a hand on him – which will no doubt see some special ‘Force-style treatment’ reserved for him by the Welsh and British and Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland, when that tour gets underway next month.

Unsurprisingly Sanchez is almost unstoppable in gold at Suncorp: he carved up Wales there last year, and had a big hand when the Wallabies took out the All Blacks to win the Tri Nations in 2011.

Maybe that’s another thread that reflects his personality: no matter what the stakes, he feels at his most assured playing in front of the Brisbane faithful.

That might help to explain last year’s about-face over switching to the Western Force.

There’s no doubting that a bit of Queensland pressure allied to some more bucks – in effect stroking the ego (which all of the best players need!), played its part.

But it’s also likely that the thought of leaving his comfort zone had a big influence.

His on-field generalship is one of the reasons why David Pocock, before he gave up the burden and moved on himself, was trying to get Sanchez, and not Quade Cooper, across to Perth to try and begin the rebuild of the Western Force.

The Force already had a Wallaby nine in Brett Sheehan, and badly needed a quality 10, but such is the stock that Pocock puts in Sanchez and the influence the halfback wields, he was the bloke Pocock wanted.

It’s a great pity for the Force that the ambitious play didn’t come off.

If it had, not only would Pocock still be at the club; they may have attracted a few other high profile recruits as well, which would have given the Force a sharper cutting edge than the current side has.

But Sanchez is at his most comfortable – and his best – playing the majority of his rugby in Brisbane.

Kind of handy that that is where the first of the British and Irish Lions Tests is being played, isn’t it?