By Rachel Griffiths Last updated: 19th November 2009
Genia: Scrum-half sensation
It's hard to see any weaknesses in his game; he's a very good passer, a good kicker and very, very strong and capable of breaking
Chris Cusiter on Will Genia
Quotes of the week
Scotland captain Chris Cusiter admits he is struggling to find faults in Will Genia's game ahead of his debut meeting with the Australia scrum-half prodigy.
Cusiter will take on 21-year-old Genia in Scotland's second autumn international at Murrayfield and success in their personal battle could be critical to the skipper being the man to lead his country to victory over the Wallabies for the first time in 27 years.
Genia has already proved crucial for Australia during their tour of Europe so far and Cusiter has acknowledged his opposite as a serious threat.
"Just from what I've seen on the tapes, he's a very accomplished player for a 21-year-old," said Cusiter.
"It's hard to see any weaknesses in his game; he's a very good passer, a good kicker and very, very strong and capable of breaking.
"So we'll keep an eye on him."
Scotland head coach Andy Robinson has called for Scotland to recycle the ball more quickly at the breakdown than they did against Fiji in their opening Test and Cusiter is fully behind his request.
"Rugby's a game of basics and that quick ball is something which we'll need to put them under pressure," he said.
"Everyone has a role in that."
Cusiter also revealed how the squad are striving to achieve the 15 per cent improvement demanded by Robinson this week.
"We've had some really good, intense sessions," added Cusiter.
"Richard Cox, our sports psychologist, has spoken to us about what that means, the 15 per cent, and how we're going to get that.
"Ultimately, it's about us performing to a level a lot higher than we performed last weekend."
6 Nations Winner 2010 Win Outright: Scotland 20/1| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| RBS Six Nations | |
| Saturday 13th February | |
| RBS Six Nations | |
| 14:00 | Wales vs Scotland |
| 16:30 | France vs Ireland |
| Sunday 14th February | |
| 14:30 | Italy vs England |
| Friday 26th February | |
| 20:00 | Wales vs France |
| Saturday 27th February | |
| 13:30 | Italy vs Scotland |
| 16:00 | England vs Ireland |
| Saturday 13th March | |
| 14:30 | Ireland vs Wales |
| 17:00 | Scotland vs England |
| Sunday 14th March | |
| 14:30 | France vs Italy |
| Saturday 20th March | |
| 14:30 | Wales vs Italy |
| 17:00 | Ireland vs Scotland |
| 19:45 | France vs England |
| Result |
|---|
| RBS Six Nations |
| Sunday 7th February |
| RBS Six Nations |
| Scotland 9 - 18 France |
| Saturday 6th February |
| England 30 - 17 Wales |
| Ireland 29 - 11 Italy |
Stuart Barnes says a change of outlook will help England, as will a change of personnel against Italy.
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