Sports

‘Fire in the belly’: White looking to fulfil Lions mission after 2013 heartbreak

Nic White is looking to claim what should’ve been rightly his in 2013 – a shot at the British and Irish Lions.

White and the Wallabies are currently in camp in Sydney for the last time before the start of the series.

The three-day camp is largely focused on medical and physical testing before players join their Super Rugby Pacific sides, with Tate McDermott and Ben Donaldson amongst the standouts during the Bronco Test.

For the scrumhalf, it presses home how close the Lions tour is after his first experience was cut short before it could begin.

White was named in the preliminary Wallabies squad for the 2013 edition after playing an integral role in the ACT Brumbies’ march to the Final, emerging as one of the form halves of Super Rugby.

However, a small fracture in his shoulder meant he sat out a potential Wallabies debut against the combined side along with the Brumbies’ famous tour win in Canberra.

“It’s huge for any rugby player in Australia,” White told reporters. “There’s plenty of guys that will have a great career but bookend (the tour) and just miss it. I think of a guy like Nathan Sharp who debuted just after the Lions and retired just before the Lions so it’s really special.

“(I) missed out on the last one and it’s been a fire in the belly to be around so there’s an opportunity there and it’s a massive event. Words don’t really do it justice for us but there’s a real buzz around what we’re doing

“What we’re talking about now is where we’ve been, where we’re going and where we want to get to before that Lions, there’s a lot of hard work.”

This week will mark the last time the Wallabies will get together before the Lions tour, with the squad making major improvements since the Spring Tour.

“It’s a huge year, you see guys come back in and sometimes not in great shape, there was none of that,” White remarked.

“…Guys are coming into that prime age and understanding (the importance) and also guys showing their hunger that we want to get better and go to a better place.

“A lot of that’s driven by this really disciplined head coach we’ve got that’s created this energy and environment where guys just want to get better and want to go to another level and again we really appreciate that.”

“We’ve got to go up to another level and the shape guys have come back in after five weeks off, you can see guys are hungry to want to go to that next step.

“We’ve just got to continue to do it and this camp’s about knowing that path and then over Super Rugby we’ve got to live it and hopefully we’ve done that and the guys are lucky enough to come back in and are in a position to go to that next step.”

Related Posts

ฟอร์มเข้าตาโค้ชไทย! สื่อเวียดนามฟุ้ง “อิชิอิ” เสนอช่วย “เหงียน ฮว่าง ดึ๊ก” ย้ายบู๊ เจลีก

สื่อเวียดนามฟุ้ง “มาซาทาดะ อิชิอิ” เฮดโค้ชทีมชาติไทย เสนอช่วย “เหงียน ฮว่าง ดึ๊ก” ย้ายบู๊ เจลีก 1 วันที่ 9 ม.ค. 68 ควันหลงหลังจบการแข่งขันฟุตบอลชิงแชมป์อาเซียน ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2024 ซึ่ง “ทัพดาวทอง” ทีมชาติเวียดนาม สามารถเอาชนะ ทีมชาติไทย ด้วยสกอร์รวม 5-3 คว้าแชมป์สมัยที่…

Nick Mallett offers frank view on Siya Kolisi’s Springboks future while ‘extraordinary’ Willie le Roux is primed for new role

Former Springboks head coach Nick Mallett insists that it will be “really tough” for captain Siya Kolisi to make the next Rugby World Cup in Australia. South Africa’s…

Exclusive: Wallaby dropped by Schmidt for first camp of 2025 after signing with overseas club

Rugby Australia has sent a ruthless message to anyone thinking of signing overseas that you’ll rule yourself out of the Lions mixer if you put pen to paper…

‘Grateful’ Beale signs fresh deal with Force as Wallabies veteran makes late bid to take on Lions

Kurtley Beale’s dream of taking on the British and Irish Lions is alive after the veteran Wallaby signed a new one-year deal with the Western Force. Beale, 36,…

‘Healthy competition’: Lolesio lays out Lions ambitions after flyhalf battle

12 months ago, Noah Lolesio was returning from France unsure of where his future lay. Now, the Brumbies playmaker is the man in charge ready to take on…

“แฟนเวียดนาม” แห่คอมเมนต์เอกฉันท์เพจ “ซัปโปโร” ต้นสังกัด “สุภโชค” แข้งทีมชาติไทย

แฟนบอลเวียดนามแห่คอมเมนต์เพียบยังไม่มูฟออน จากเหตุการณ์นัดชิงชนะเลิศ อาเซียน คัพ 2024 วันที่ 9 มกราคม 2568 ความเคลื่อนไหว ทีมชาติไทย แพ้ เวียดนาม 2-3 นัดชิงชนะเลิศ อาเซียน คัพ 2024 เลก 2 เมื่อวันที่ 5 มกราคมที่ผ่านมา (สกอร์รวม 2 นัด แพ้ 3-5) ชวดคว้าแชมป์ไปอย่างน่าเสียดาย…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *