| Full name | William Genia | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 17 January 1988 | ||
| Place of birth | Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea | ||
| Height | 174 cm (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Weight | 85 kg (13 st 5 lb) | ||
| School | Brisbane Boys' College | ||
| Rugby union career | |||
| Playing career | |||
| Position | Scrum-half | ||
| Super Rugby | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 2007– | Queensland Reds | 57 | (58) |
| National team(s) | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 2009– | Australia | 27 | (25) |
Will Genia is a Papua New Guinean-born, Australian rugby union player who plays at scrum-half for the Queensland Reds in the Super Rugby competition, in which he debuted round one, 2007. Currently, he plays for the Wallabies.
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Genia was educated at Brisbane Boys College finishing in 2005, the same school as team mates John Roe, Andrew Brown, and James Horwill. He played GPS, Queensland and Australian Schoolboys rugby in 2005. His brother, Francis, plays for the Papua New Guinea national rugby union team.
Genia made his Super 14 debut as a 19 year old in 2007. He shared the scrum half position with Sam Cordingley and Ben Lucas throughout 2008 and only made one start. It was in the 2009 season he made the scrum half position his own and earned a call up to the Australian Wallabies.
Genia made his international debut against South Africa in the 2009 Tri Nations. On 7 November 2009, Genia started his first international game in Europe in an 18–9 victory against England. He won the man of the match for his performance, which included scoring a try.
Genia has been compared by many critics [1][2][3] to the legendary Australian halfback George Gregan. Pound for pound he is one of the strongest players in the Wallabies team, being able to bench press 172 kg.[4]
Genia's form for the Reds in 2010 was superb and he also captained the side, a role thrust upon him after regular captain James Horwill suffered an injury midway through the second match of the season. Genia's captaincy impressed pundits such as former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones who suggested he should be the Australia captain. At the end of the 2010 season, Genia was voted by his teammates as the players' player of the year and won the Pilecki Medal and also was voted the fans player of the year winning the People's Choice award.
Genia had another superb season for the Reds in 2011 and was voted by Australian rugby writers as the Australian Super Rugby Player of the Year.[5] He played a crucial part in the Reds first ever Super Rugby title, and scored a memorable match winning 60 metre try in the final against the Crusaders.
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