Dave Dennis feared field-goal nightmare in grand final glory

HE missed the Waratahs’ 2014 premiership final through injury, but this popular Australian rugby star got his redemption in England. It’s Payto & Panda!

DAVE Dennis only had one thought in his mind when Exeter were on the verge of winning a Premiership title at Twickenham last weekend.

And it wasn’t excitement that he may finally get a premiership win in his boots after a knee injury cruelly robbed him of captaining the Waratahs to a Super Rugby title win in 2014.

“To be honest, I was actually worried it was going to go to kicks and I would have to line up from 20 metres out and I’d shank it,” Dennis told us this week from England.

“We only had two minutes to go in extra time and I was thinking, surely this isn’t going to go to kicks?”

Dave Dennis (C) with Exeter teammates at Twickenham.

It actually was going to kicks. Though Dennis wouldn’t have to take a shot (he’d been subbed). The final was minutes away from being decided by a placekick shootout competition. The next tie-breaker - number of tries - was also level at two.

In the end, Gareth Steenson nailed a penalty and unfancied Exeter upset Wasps in front of 80,000 for their first ever title.

It finally gave Dennis an on-field premiership; a deserved win for one of rugby’s true good guys.

“To be out there and to be able to contribute to the semi-final last week, and then the final - which I missed out on in Sydney - it made it a bit sweeter,” Dennis said.

LISTEN: Iain Payten and Jamie Pandaram break down the Wallabies’ squad for June and all the Super rugby talking points

“It fills a bit of a void. Time obviously helps. I was pretty shattered (in 2014) but I always thought that things will come around full circle. It was just a matter of picking myself up and sticking at it.

“It was nice mate but I was just honestly stoked for all the people involved in the club, from where they’ve come, it’s a special story.

“I just feel fortunate to have played this game at two great clubs now. The overwhelming majority of professional players would never win a premiership and I have been fortunate to win two.”

Dennis after the 2014 Super Rugby final.

The loyal fans of Exeter, who only won promotion in 2010, have been partying all week. The semirural Exeter region only has a population of 120,000, not unlike the Dubbo region.

“That’s what it feels like for some people,” Dennis laughed.

“It’d be like the Dubbo Roos winning Super Rugby.”

WELCOME HOME, WILL?

WILL Genia wants to return to Queensland and says it is not impossible he’ll be lining up for them again next year.

“I wouldn’t be wanting to come back to the Reds if I didn’t think it was possible,” Genia told our Brisbane colleague Jim Tucker.

“It’s not a case of the Reds not wanting me because I understand it’s tough on them for this to come up midyear when they have allocated resources elsewhere.

“I want to be here and try to make that work because I won’t play against Queensland which means I would go back to Europe.”

FIRST IN, BEST DRESSED

SHUTE Shield officials are encouraging people to get an early bus to the blockbuster showdown between archrivals Manly and Warringah on Saturday at Manly Oval.

The latest chapter in the blood feud between the Marlins and the Rats is tipped to draw a crowd of 7000 people or more. Not only will that see people crammed in, it causes problems getting people in if they all turn up just before first-grade.

One of the great local derbies in rugby.

“That part of Manly is a challenge, trying to get a park and so on, we’d recommend people get there early and don’t necessarily travel by car,” said Sydney Rugby Union president David Begg.

“It’s an unusually configured ground, there are a bunch of nooks and crannies. There are parts where they’ve been seven and eight deep and I expect that again on Saturday. It’s be absolutely full to the max. It’s going to be a cracking day.”

SHUTE SHIELD STINK

AFTER investigating a brawl between Parramatta and West Harbour that spilt over the sidelines last week, the SRU elected to not instigate an official disciplinary procedure. Two players who were sent off for throwing punches will front the judiciary and it is understood both clubs have also disciplined participants.

MURPHY BEHIND DEADLY 7S

AUSSIE speedster Mahalia Murphy believes indigenous kids are perfectly suited to sevens, and believes the ARU’s Deadly 7s program is a great vehicle to unearth new stars.

Murphy visited Shalvey Public School to help run kids at Kurtley Beale’s old school through the basics of sevens. The Deadly 7s program was created last year as part of the ARU’s Reconciliation Action Plan, and saw over 2000 indigenous kids try the sport last year.

Mahalia Murphy has back the Deadly 7s program.

“It’s these types of programs that are going to bring awareness and get kids engaged, especially out west where a lot of people don’t know the game that much,” Murphy said.

“Indigenous people have that skill, that speed and talent. Sevens is such a fast-paced game and it suits us really well.

“If we can take the game to indigenous kids a lot more, I think we can see more kids coming through the ranks.”

BREATH OF FRESH AIR

MICHAEL Cheika naming the Wallabies squad live on FoxSports this week was a refreshing change given players were not told beforehand if they’d made it or missed out, as per recent custom.

Waratahs players were having pizza at a Queenstown pub when their phones started buzzing, and the same thing happened for Reds players in camp in Samoa.

There is even talk some jet lagged Brumbies players slept through the whole shebang, having only just landed from their around-the-world tour to South Africa and Argentina.

BIG BEN CELEBRATIONS DELAYED

BIG plans to celebrate Ben Alexander for breaking George Smith’s record of 152 games for the Brumbies had to be put on hold at the last minute when the former Wallabies prop suffered a knee injury at training on Wednesday night. He was ruled out of the clash with the Rebels at GIO Stadium.

Alexander still has a few more games - and a probable home final - to take the record, and is in talks about going around again for the Brums next year.

Meanwhile, Dan McKellar is set to be named as the next Brumbies head coach early on Friday.

DISCIPLINE KEY TO IZZY’S GAME

IZZY Perese is a superstar in the making but it’s his willingness to be a team man that impresses Australian under 20s coach Simon Cron.

Perese scored a 78th minute matchwinner for the Aussie under 20s against a strong Wales team in Georgia on Thursday morning. It was a banana-skin game in a tournament that doesn’t allow for slip-ups in the pool stages, and on the back of good grunt from the forwards, stoic defence and some pacy finishing, the Aussies got the win.

“Izzy is extremely explosive,” Cron said.

“He is very strong in the upper body and he is clearly a kid who won’t accept mediocrity. But the best thing about him is he played in his structures very well. He did his job.”

Cron praised the work of his pack, and said call-ups form the Australian sevens program Henry Hutchinson, Simon Kennewell and particularly no.15 Liam McNamara did well.

“We did some good things but we are still far from our best, in terms of being a cohesive unit,” Cron said.

The Aussies play Samoa next, before playing England next week.

GATLAND BURNS SIR GRAHAM

LIONS coach Warren Gatland hasn’t wasted time attacking World Cup winner Sir Graham Henry after touching down in New Zealand.

Gatland said he’s making a point of involving every one of his 41 touring players in the first three games so there is no disharmony in the squad.

Henry, who was coach of the 2001 Lions who toured and lost in Australia, used a different strategy that resulted in team infighting throughout their trip.

“I know the guys who were involved with Graham Henry in 2001 - he lost half the team on day one because he went ‘you guys over here, and you guys over there’ and the players knew straight away, ‘well, that’s the test side and we’re just making up the numbers’,” Gatland said.

“I think it’s important that these guys are putting themselves in the shop window, that they’ve got a chance to prove themselves and with a little bit of luck they’re in contention for the Test.”

Henry went on to become head coach of the All Blacks, a position Gatland also wants after his stint as coach of Wales expires after the 2019 World Cup.