Matt Giteau: Hoping to win his battle this time
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Amazingly, considering they have been around so long, Matt Giteau and Jonny Wilkinson have only once gone head to head at fly-half.
That will change on Saturday, but Giteau still has a vague memory of Australia's nemesis, this one as the man who ruined Giteau's World Cup dream in Marseille two years ago.
Giteau either would not or could not recall that game, and certainly could not recall the one time the two have played opposite each other: large segments of the 2003 World Cup Final when Stephen Larkham was having a facial wound treated in the blood bin.
"I don't have any real memory of what he did or how he controlled the game," Giteau said of the quarter-final two years ago, to The Australian.
The two also clashed at Twickenham in 2002, when Giteau made his Test debut, although this time Giteau was at centre again, but this was one Giteau would have wanted to forget as well - there's been a bit of a theme when the two have been on the pitch together.
"My debut was a bit of a shocker," he said.
"I think I threw two balls out, had one run, knocked the ball on and put up one high ball that went backwards."
Wilkinson kicked two final-quarter penalty goals to ignite England's come-from-behind 32-31 victory that day in 2002, and is England's main man according to Giteau.
"He brings a lot of confidence to their group, a lot of shape, his kicking game steers the team around really well," Giteau said.
"He's got a lot of experience. He's a big game player. He's proven that time and time again. And if you're ill-disciplined he's capable of kicking them from anywhere."
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