Incumbent Wallabies five-eighth Bernard Foley is keen to tap the vast rugby knowledge of Matt Giteau, if he finally gets the chance on Saturday to play alongside the man he admired while growing up.
Giteau recently ended a four-year absence from the Wallabies side when he played against the Springboks in Brisbane.
Foley wasn’t part of the squad for that game, but was restored to the starting lineup for the most recent Test against Argentina, which Giteau missed.
Giteau’s tally of 21 caps against New Zealand alone is more than Foley’s total 19 against all comers.
The NSW Waratahs playmaker would relish a chance this weekend to line up next to Giteau, who made his Test debut in 2002, when Foley was only 13 years old.
“I’ve watched Matt for a long time and (when I was) growing up he was the new kid on the block,” Foley said.
“He had the haircuts and the headgear, so everyone used to look up to him and he definitely was an exciting player to watch.
“I was one of those kids who tried to replicate what he’d do on the field.
“I haven’t played with him before, so to get that opportunity would be amazing if it does occur.”
Foley said he hadn’t tried to mine much information from Giteau yet, but would certainly take the opportunity if they were both selected as starters this week.
“He’s a bag of knowledge, the experience that he brings,” Foley said.
“Just the calmness and the coolness he brings to the younger heads or the guys who haven’t played in so many of these big games, is invaluable for any team.
“So we’ll be picking his brain this week or getting a bit of advice or a bit of knowledge about these All Blacks that he’s come up against for so many years.”
Saturday’s match looms as the last legendary All Blacks five-eighth Dan Carter will play in Sydney.
“He’s been probably the world class fly-half for the last decade or more, ever since I can imagine,” said Foley, who has only faced Carter at Super level.
“It’s an amazing occasion for him to come over here and have his last game (in Sydney).
“The whole team will probably lift for that and we’ll probably have to be more alert and more alarmed about his own performance.”
Foley has had just one start in four appearances against New Zealand, and has yet to enjoy a victory against the All Blacks.
He faces plenty of competition for the coveted Wallabies’ No.10 jersey, with Giteau, Quade Cooper, Matt Toomua and Kurtley Beale also in the squad.
“There’re five fly-halves that have played for the Wallabies in the past competing at every training session, so it’s really great intensity there,” Foley said.
soapit
Guest
acceleration i'd say as much as pace. given enough room he'd likely hit close to what he was getting before but lost the zip to take a gap. i wonder how much of it has had to do with him trying to play a more measured game rather than everything at 100mph as well
Not Bothered
Guest
Cooper isnt Australias best 10 by far. Why must people ignore whats actually happening? Cooper is in the kind of form where you could justify dropping him from the 23. Oh but "hes the best" no he isnt, he probably isnt playing like a top 3 flyhalf let alone "the best". Pay attention. But if only Australia could produce players that can keep up with his misdirected behind the back passes inside his own 22 right? How about he just draws the player and passes normally with accuracy so his team can benifit instead of bringing stup1d pressure on his team by doing stup1d things? Wouldnt that be nice? Or maybe he could play consistently, do the small things right 99% of the time and pick his moments to try things. Foley is picked over Cooper because he IS the better 10 on form. Cooper is overlooked for good reasons. Please try and understand this instead of living in a world where you pretend reality isnt happening.
Lindsay Amner
Roar Guru
Great thanx I'll try that one.
Lindsay Amner
Roar Guru
Thanx I'll have a look at those
Lindsay Amner
Roar Guru
I have Foxtel go but no it doesn't work outside Oz. no beer sorry!
Tah Mate
Guest
Pay no attention to Nitwit. He's a highly predictable serial shart stirrer.
bill
Guest
Yes, but has he really lost the pace, or has he just lost the confidence to use it?
Dead Account
Roar Pro
Come off it Jay, It's completely normal for a 13 year old to idolise someone who has a "cool" image to go along with their talent.
PeterK
Roar Guru
He has never recovered his pace pre his knee injury
bill
Guest
I agree with that. Cooper's running game used to be so much better.
PeterK
Roar Guru
and Foleys tackling is worse. Foley running and support game is better than Coopers though.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Foley's not so terrible. He just lacks the passing and kicking ability of Cooper.
riddler
Guest
lindsay.. am also in the northern hempishere.. the only page i now use is livetv.sx during the game if in oz then u get the oz commentators, in saffa land the saffas etc.. but the best bit it it is usually with the english sky team taking overall control so you get noddy, fitzy et al for some excellent, knowledgable summaries and comments without the hyperbole.. have been through many, many a site over the years, these guys are doing well..
Ken
Guest
Cooper is s by far Australia's best 10. The team will succeed if they can select players who can keep up with Quade's game, and aren't afraid to receive behind-the-back flicked offloads. Foley is so terrible, it baffles me how he gets picked for the team. He either kicks away possession, or is tackled before he can make a pass.
jutsie
Guest
It wont work due to geoblocking unless he uses a vpn
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Fair call EJ.
john
Guest
not sure if it works out of Australia but foxtel has the "foxtel go" APP for mobile or tablet. if you have a mate in aus who is willing to provide you details of their account you could try that (again assuming it works over there)? pretty sure as a foxtel account holder you can add that APP to 2 devices. you would of course have to provide that mate with some good Dutch beer to say thank you!
Utah
Guest
If those streaming sites fail, then it usually is on YouTube within a couple of hours of completion. Just need to stay away from the internet till then. The quality varies, sometimes terrible, sometimes good.
Bakkies
Guest
Canal + might have the French rights so you might get the stream off a French site.
soapit
Guest
wiziwigs gone isnt it? realstreamsunited has been my best option since (most similar and look to wiziwig i found)