Nic White names his favourite ‘freak’ teammate and reveals secret to Wallabies resurgence
Nic White names his favourite 'freak' teammate and reveals secret to Wallabies resurgence
Recently retired Wallabies scrum-half Nic White has named former Exeter Chiefs star Jack Nowell as one of his three favourite teammates, as he reflects on his career thus far.
Speaking to the hosts of the KOKO show, White started with Christian Leali’ifano, saying: “He was unbelievable on the field, but off the field he connected with everybody, and his off-field antics were one of the greatest. After a game, we’d drink until four or five or six in the morning, and he’d lead the charge every single time. He’d be the first on Monday morning to jump on the bike and absolutely spin out the hardest 60 to sweat it all out.
“François Steyn, another boy who was unbelievable at Montpellier. I went in not really knowing what to expect with big Francois, but he was an absolute competitor on the field. He was just absolutely everywhere, a real competitor. And then off the field, he walked into the gym with a can of Coke. It’s kind of sitting on his little pot belly, and lifting 30/40 kilos on the bench press and taking the piss out of everyone. He was just a big kid, and I absolutely loved my time with him.
“And then Jack Nowell at Exeter. He was a bit of a freak, again, worked incredibly hard, connected with everyone, but he enjoyed a drink as well, and he led the charge off the field.”
Wallabies resurgence
Having finally retired from international rugby – for the second time in just over a month – White now has time to reflect on his career in green and gold. White’s retirement has been a long time coming, but he’s pleased to have made the jump when he did, rather than leaving at the end of the last World Cup, which he had originally planned.
“I feel like I’m leaving in a better spot than I almost left it in 2023, and I didn’t feel so good about that. I’ve ridden some highs and some lows. I feel like it’s in a really good spot at the moment.
“I’d say that the best part was my last game in Sydney at Allianz. There was the most vocal I’ve ever heard an Australian crowd. I don’t know if you guys remember the national anthem, halfway through, just held the mic to the crowd like it was unbelievable. There’s just such great support around the Wallabies at the moment, and I feel like we are building. I think people can see it.
“The results aren’t quite there at the moment, but those losses are only just one moment away from being a win. Anyone we play at the moment, the boys are going to be within a chance. So it’s just a matter of time. We just got to stick with these guys. There’s a great feeling of belief in there, and I feel like good things are just around the corner, and the support is just building. So I feel like a good period is coming.”
What’s changed?
If White had left in 2023, then he would have exited the international set-up in arguably Australia’s darkest rugby union period. Having been dumped from the competition in the pool stage for the first time ever, the national side under Eddie Jones was in ruins. Fast-forward two years, and Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies have rebuilt huge belief in the national side.
“I think just the identity of how we want to play the game. There was a fair bit of ambiguity around how we wanted to play in 2023; it was very, very unclear. A lot of it was off the cuff,” said White.
“Joe’s very detailed. He understands how he wants to play the game, and the boys are starting to get a really good understanding of that. Once you get that understanding, then you’re able to have an influence on the game.
“There’s a handful of guys that are a little bit young now that are still just understanding how the shape works, both in defence and attack, but once they understand it, then they can start being the difference, because shape and systems won’t win you the game alone. It’s understanding those and then being the difference within those systems and within that structure.
“We’ve got a couple of guys that are unbelievable athletes, and they can make the difference. We’ve all got to be on the same page, and I think we had some great athletes in ’23, but we certainly weren’t on the same page.”
