Rugby World Cup: Wallaby Matt Giteau aiming for Cup win over England at third attempt

UNSURPRISINGLY for a man two shy of 100 Test caps, Matt Giteau has encountered most things in rugby.

Australia v Fiji - Group A: Rugby World Cup 2015

UNSURPRISINGLY for a man two shy of 100 Test caps, Matt Giteau has encountered most things in rugby.

Pressure? Tick. England? Tick. World Cups? Tick.

How about a high-pressure World Cup game against England? Double tick.

“The two times I’ve played them at a World Cup were 2003​ in​ the final and 2007 the quarter-final,” Giteau says.

Ah yes, sorry to bring it up. Those two games don’t hold fond memories, of course, with England snuffing out Australia’s World Cup dream in both tournaments.

Giteau is the only survivor of the 2003 World Cup final, and one of four (Stephen Moore, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Drew Mitchell) from 2007.

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But despite England proving a World Cup nemesis, Giteau says missing the 2011 tournament was something of a circuit-breaker.

“For me everything is pretty fresh now, pretty new,” Giteau said.

“There’s no real baggage because it hasn’t been consistent for me. While those results weren’t great, they’re not really something that I think about leading into this game.”

Giteau may reflect on them after a Wallaby win on Sunday morning at Twickenham, you’d imagine.

Giteau is set to play another massive World Cup match against the old enemy and this time he could reverse the equation: an Australian win could end England’s tournament in the pool stages.

It’s not the same pain as an extra-time drop-goal to lose in a final, but it’s in the same neighbourhood.

But with those stakes, beating a desperate England at home won’t be easy. Australia has only won three times in their ten visits.

“Being a home World Cup as well, their preparation would’ve been that extra bit. They would’ve put a little more into it, you’d imagine,” Giteau says.

“We’re expecting them to be well prepared, physical and at the best of their game.”

Giteau jokes that he was on the beers at the last Wallaby-England game on the Spring Tour but he knows Twickenham as well as most.

He made his debut in 2002 at the west London ground (in another thriller 32-31 England win) and steered Toulon to a third consecutive Heineken Cup crown at Twickenham in May.

“The really big stadiums, when you turn up to do the captain’s run you get a sense of confidence,” Giteau says.

“It’s a big game, it’s a big stadium - it’s why you play. For me, I’ve been away from the Test arena for so long that getting do to those pre-runs in the big stadiums is something that you miss.”

Still get the goosebumps after all these years?

“I think I get it more now,” Giteau says.

“It’s almost like I’ve restarted all over again. Which is a good thing because I suppose I don’t take it for granted.”

It may be an Indian summer of a World Cup for Giteau, but it’s not a lark. He knows full well how hard they are to win courtesy of England and the pain still lingers, he finally admits.

Several years playing alongside Jonny Wilkinson actually helped it fade.

“Knowing that it wasn’t a fluke in 2003, that drop goal, does somewhat ease it,” he says.

“While you’re so close to winning a World Cup, and I think I took that for granted, thinking ‘oh next World Cup, we’ll win it’. But there’s such a hard competition, they’re a hard thing to win.

“The biggest thing is to bring exactly what you’ve got. You don’t have long. Especially these games, they go so quick.

“You need to impose yourself and bring what you’ve got as quickly as possible.”

Originally published as Rugby World Cup: Wallaby Matt Giteau aiming for Cup win over England at third attempt