Wallabies Legend Will Genia On Who He Thinks Is The Best Scrumhalf In The World Right Now
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Number nine.
I was lucky enough to grab a chat with one of the all-time great number nines recently, in Wallabies legend Will Genia, to chat all things rugby – including who he reckons is the best scrumhalf in the world right now.
Genia has represented Australia in incredible 110 times, making his debut for the Wallabies as a 21-year-old, bursting onto the scene with a man-of-the-match performance against England in Twickenham to kickstart an incredible career.
And with that, there aren’t too many people more qualified to give us his opinion on who he thinks is the best scrumhalf in the world right now.
Genia is a huge fan of France’s Antoine Dupont, who many believe is the best nine right now, but for him, it’s got to be New Zealand’s Aaron Smith for a variety of reasons.
“I love [Antoine] Dupont, I think he’s an absolute superstar,” Genia said.
“I still think Aaron Smith is the best nine in the game because… the All Blacks are a team that are constantly winning, right? And if I look at why and try to understand why that is, he’s at the epicentre of it all.
“He’s the guy that controls the tempo, the guy that controls the pace who isn’t just a nine who’s a distributor but, you know, he’s a playmaker in his own right. His ability to run and snipe and sit defenders down and then create space for guys on the outside, whether that’s forward runners off him or space out wide for his wingers.
“And then he has an amazing ability to manage the game through his kicking game, whether it’s the box kicks or the kicks into space and behind. He’s just the absolute complete package and when I think about his career, he’s been elite essentially since he came into the game at test level.
“He’s been so incredibly consistent and for me, that’s the hallmark of a great, great player, it’s if you can do it for a number of years and be consistent with it. I still regard him as the best, and not just because of nostalgia, because I genuinely think he still plays at that high level.
“But I think Dupont’s certainly right there with him as well. He’s an absolute… I love watching him play.”
