Australia great Matt Giteau says it is thanks to three-time European champions Toulon that he is enjoying an Indian summer in the dying days of his career at the Rugby World Cup.
The charismatic 33-year-old centre — who was named man of the match on his 100th Test appearance in last Sunday’s controversial 35-34 quarter-final win over Scotland — admitted he had given up all hope of ever donning the green and gold jersey after decamping to France in 2011.
“I thought I would be earning some cash doing a couple of speaking gigs, to be honest!” said a grinning Giteau.
However, against the odds he will now line up for Sunday’s semi-final with Argentina and is within two wins of eclipsing the heartbreaking loss to England in the dying seconds of extra-time of the 2003 final on home soil.
This has been made possible due to national coach Michael Cheika pressuring the Australian Rugby Union to relax the rule earlier this year that nobody who played abroad could be selected for the national team.
Instead, those with more than 60 caps, such as Giteau and Toulon team-mate Drew Mitchell, became eligible once again.
Giteau puts his renaissance down to his spell at Toulon, which began in 2011.
Giteau, who was surprisingly omitted from the 2011 World Cup squad by coach Robbie Deans, has been an integral part of the Toulon side that has won a historic three successive European Cups and a domestic title.
“Of course it is thanks to them (Toulon) I am here now,” Giteau told French reporters.
“It is a club which gave me another chance, another challenge, which also gave me lot of time to myself and now as a result I have two children!
“It is thanks to Toulon and also Michael Cheika for giving me another chance and it is proving to be an amazing ride.”
Giteau, whose wife and two children are with him in England, says they have become well-acquainted with the playgrounds round the team hotel in the leafy London suburb of Teddington.
The centre, who scored his 30th Test try in the 33-13 whipping of England in the pool game that sent the hosts packing from the tournament, admitted he was not sure how he would be received when he returned to the national squad.
“I had doubts about the welcome I would get,” said Giteau.
“Of course at the beginning that is normal.
“I didn’t know the guys very well at all as I had been out of the picture for four years and a lot of faces had changed.
“However, it couldn’t have been nicer or warmer. This team is very special. They are a great bunch of guys.
“As a result, they give me a lot of time and the confidence to do what I want when I want.”
Giteau, who is looking forward to crossing swords with another great of the game on Sunday, former Toulon team-mate Juan Martin Hernandez, says it has been a real bonus to have Stephen Larkham, the man he replaced as Wallaby fly-half in 2008, in the coaching set-up.
“He’s been very good. He’s not funny — he’s tried a few jokes which don’t work,” said Giteau in his habitual dry humour.
“He’s very smart. Even when he played he was good. He used to be very quiet as a player but as a coach he speaks a lot, gets his messages across well and the way he dissects teams is a real pleasure to watch.
“The style he wants us to play is really pleasurable.”
For Giteau, though, the spark that lit the fuse which has seen the Wallabies become one of the most formidable outfits at the tournament is not down to one match such as the victory over New Zealand in the Rugby Championship earlier this year.
“No, not any one victory has been the defining point for us,” he said.
“For instance, the week after we beat the All Blacks we went there and got thrashed, and that wasn’t a defining moment either.
“We’ve come here with one goal and everyone is buying into it even the players who aren’t playing a lot.
“We’re getting addicted to winning.”