Friday 23 October 2015 15:28, UK
Matt Giteau is delighted to be further extending his international playing career after helping Australia reach the semi-finals of the World Cup.
Giteau won his 100th cap and was named man-of-the-match in the 35-34 victory over Scotland last weekend and is now set to feature for the Wallabies as they try to overcome Argentina to secure their place in the Twickenham final on October 31.
The 33-year-old has benefited from head coach Michael Cheika's successful attempt to overturn a long-standing Australian Rugby Union policy which allows him to pick overseas players if they have made 60 or more international appearances.
That has lured Giteau away from his Test exile at Toulon where he has excelled since his surprise exclusion from Australia's World Cup squad in 2011.
"I never thought I'd be playing in a World Cup semi-final a year ago," he said.
"I thought I'd be doing a couple of speaking gigs to get a bit of cash. That was the plan but it's just been an amazing ride for me this last six months.
"We showed a lot of character at the end against Scotland. Personally, I'm just happy we survived another week.
"The 100th cap was good, but the man of the match award I think should have gone to someone else in our team.
"We take a lot from the way we regrouped, how calm we were when they scored a try with only four or five minutes left.
"We were able to get down their end and apply pressure. We took a lot of confidence out of that."
Giteau will go up against Toulon team-mate Juan Martin Hernandez when Argentina attempt to reach the final for the first time and he was quick to praise the experienced Pumas player.
"Juan is a beautiful man - I've always told him that at Toulon. He's very skilful, he's tough, defensively strong and adds a lot of stability to that team," added Giteau.
"I know what it's like to play with him, especially in big games. He is a very, very good player.
"He's very confident in what he does and the things he can do a lot of other players can't.
"Argentina are very good at every World Cup. Whatever they do, they always seem to peak in these tournaments. They're incredibly dangerous.
"We've seen what they were able to do to Ireland [a 43-20 quarter-final victory] and how far they pushed New Zealand in the first game.
"Every round they've been really good. They've blown teams away quite easily."
