Stepping into the boots of arguably the best halfback in world rugby would be a daunting experience for most rugby players.
But for Brumbies scrumhalf Nic White, it couldn’t be a more comfortable fit.
Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie dropped the biggest selection bombshell of his short and winless tenure on Wednesday when he relegated stand-in skipper Will Genia to the bench for Saturday night’s Test against Argentina in Perth.
The move has seen White thrust into the starting side, and the 23-year-old revealed Genia had been giving him more than just wise words in the countdown to his first Test starting role.
“He’s not only offered advice, he’s also given me two pairs of boots,” White said.
“He gets given a lot of pairs and had a couple left over.
“Most of the guys up here have size 13, 14 boots. So it’s pretty rare to have two blokes with size 10.”
White was told of his promotion before training on Monday.
The 173cm speedster was a five-eighth during his early schooldays, and grew up idolising Stephen Larkham – now his Brumbies backline coach.
But after making the switch to scrumhalf when he was 15, he took a greater interest in another Wallabies and Brumbies great, George Gregan.
Although Genia was left bitterly disappointed by his relegation, it hasn’t affected his relationship with White.
“We’ve got a pretty good friendship,” White said.
“The very first session on Monday I went and spoke to him about what he learned from the previous game, and what things I could work on.
“It was very open.”
White only made his Test debut last month, but has impressed McKenzie during his three appearances off the bench.
He was on the verge of making his Test debut last year, only for a shoulder reconstruction to rule him out of action.
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