Nic White was ‘nervous’ about Springboks rematch after controversial 2022 theatrics
Wallabies scrum-half Nic White in action against the Springboks and during a training session (inset).
Veteran Wallabies scrum-half Nic White has admitted that he was “a little bit nervous” ahead of their recent games with the Springboks following a controversial incident from a 2022 Test between the teams.
The Springboks and Wallabies were recently involved in two exciting Rugby Championship Tests in South Africa with Australia clinching a shock 38-22 triumph in the first clash in Johannesburg while the home side avenged that result by sealing a 30-22 win in the rematch in Cape Town.
White was one of Australia‘s stars in that first encounter and the result was a momentous one as it was the Wallabies first victory against the Boks in South Africa in 12 years and their first win at the world-famous Ellis Park since 1963.
The 35-year-old was also influential during the early stages of the Cape Town Test as he caught the Boks by surprise in the eighth minute when he played quickly from a free-kick and delivered a grubber kick which Corey Toole gathered before crossing for a try.
However, White was forced off the field shortly afterwards when he failed an HIA and his influence was missed during the rest of the match as the Boks eventually secured an important Rugby Championship triumph.
Despite shining in that epic Wallabies victory in Johannesburg and delivering an impressive cameo in their defeat in Cape Town, White revealed that he had some trepidation ahead of their trip to South Africa.
His anxiety stems from an incident during a Wallabies v Springboks Test in Adelaide in 2022 when he fell to the ground in apparent pain after receiving inadvertent slap in the face from Springboks counterpart Faf de Klerk.
De Klerk incorrectly yellow carded
White’s theatrics resulted in referee Paul Williams incorrectly sending De Klerk to the sin-bin and the Wallabies eventually claimed a 25-17 victory.
However, the Wallabies scrum-half’s antics was heavily criticised with former Springboks captain John Smit taking to social media to slam White for killing “a little piece of rugby’s soul” and ex-Boks fly-half Butch James saying “I think it’s an absolute disgrace to the game of rugby that a player can behave like that.”
While being interviewed on the Behind the Ruck podcast, White was asked about his recent visit to South Africa but went off script by mentioning the 2022 incident in Adelaide.
“Obviously, I was a little bit nervous coming back to South Africa,” he said. “After 2022, I must admit, I got a bit of a backlash and rightfully so.
“It’s not a moment that I was proud of, but I’d like to think over 300 plus games, people can get past one moment that I apologised for after the game, and (it’s) certainly been intense times going back to South Africa.”
He revealed, however, that the Wallabies enjoyed their two-week stay in South Africa and they were well received in the country.
“Like I said, I was nervous going back, but the week I had in Johannesburg leading into that game, the hospitality we felt in South Africa was unreal,” said White.
“The people were so nice and that’s what I remembered before ’22. Obviously, got a hell of a reception at the game, which is what I expected, getting off the bus and getting into the ground.
‘Everyone’s awesome over there’
“But when you come face-to-face with everybody individually throughout the week, everyone’s awesome over there and I love how passionate the people in South Africa are for their rugby.
“It really is a dream to get over there and then play in front of that sort of atmosphere. So, we had a good week in Johannesburg, obviously got a good result there and you could have thought that potentially Cape Town could have been a bit different. But again, people were lovely to us.
“Unreal in Cape Town. I remember going down to the shop front, everyone stopping us and saying how good the game was, how well we played (in Johannesburg). There was no sour grapes in terms of the results.
“So, it was awesome and again. I think I got mobbed in the shop front a couple of times.
“But it is absolutely awesome and I’d say for as many as I had to, for all the kids to take as many photos as I could because it’s what the game’s about and the more we can spread it.
“But again, the appreciation for the way we went about our rugby was awesome and then obviously a bit disappointing in that second game. But we certainly gave it everything we had.
“But we felt the pressure of the Springboks and what they can do with a little bit of a different game-plan. But they really squeezed us and created some errors and those errors came off the back of the pressure they put you under, which is pretty immense. It was exciting.”
White also opened up on his decision to change his mind on retiring from international rugby after the Wallabies’ final Test of their series with the British & Irish Lions in Sydney earlier this month.
He said he did not hesitate to make that decision when Wallabies boss Joe Schmidt presented him with the opportunity when fellow scrum-half Jake Gordon sustained a hamstring injury in the build-up to the Rugby Championship.
“Honestly, I was very close to retiring there a couple of weeks ago,” he explained. “And then, to get the call to say ‘Mate, do you want to go to South Africa?’
“I was quick to jump and say ‘Yes, like I would love that’. But it exceeded all my expectations of what the two weeks could have been.
“And if that happens to be the end of it, well, man, that was one hell of a ride.”