Will Genia insists discipline must be spot-on against Ireland

Wallabies vice-captain Will Genia has dismissed suggestions he’ll be underdone against Ireland.

Will Genia poses in Brisbane yesterday ahead of the Wallabies opening Test of the year. Picture: Stuart Walmsley/Rugby.com.au

Wallabies vice-captain Will Genia has dismissed suggestions he’ll be underdone in his injury comeback in a “war of attrition” against Ireland.

Despite missing a month of Super Rugby with a knee ligament strain, Genia says he’s primed and ready to fire if selected as expected on Saturday night at Suncorp Stadium.

The presence of the 88-Test halfback is a massive boost to Australia who always look a far more assured attacking side with him calling the shots from the ruckbase.

But there are fears he won’t be up to the rigours and speed of the Test match arena against the Irish, who enjoyed an unbeaten Six Nations campaign this year. Genia, though, said it was the right call — after much discussion between the Melbourne Rebels and Rugby Australia — for him to have delayed his return to the field to ensure he was 100 per cent fit for the world No 2-ranked ­outfit.

“I could have played (on Saturday in Auckland), I was about 80 to 85 per cent, but I still felt like that if I was out there playing I’d still be hesitating a little bit,” he said yesterday.

So will the 30-year-old be underdone in what he sees as an “incredibly tough” three-Test ­series?

“Not at all,” he said. “I feel like I’ve put in the work and at the end of the day footy is footy you just go out there and play and I’ll back myself if I get the opportunity.”

Genia expressed concerns at the Wallabies being ranked the worst-disciplined team in world rugby and stressed they must turn that around to beat Ireland, who he sees as the best.

Genia also rated Joe Schmidt’s Ireland highly for their ball ­retention. They held the ball for 23 phases in the final play of the game to set up a matchwinning Sexton field goal to beat France in their Six Nations opener,

“They give away the least amount of penalties out of the top 10 nations in rugby and they hold on to the ball for long periods of time,” he said. “So it’s going to be a tough Test in terms of our ­defence and then obviously with our attack we’re not going to get easy outs in terms of penalties. It’s going to be a war of attrition.’’

AAP