Over 42 Tests dating back to 2013, Nic White has experienced the highs and lows of the Wallabies rollercoaster.
And during some of the dark times the halfback admits he would be “hoping not to be seen” while out in public after a loss.
But three straight victories – including two over world champions South Africa – have seen the Wallabies surge up to No.3 in the world rankings and deliver confidence that coach Dave Rennie is the right man to guide them through to the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.
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White, 31, has won back the starting No.9 jersey after red-hot competition with Tate McDermott and Jake Gordon this season.
And despite COVID-19 somewhat limiting the team’s ability to mix and mingle in the community, he has noticed a definite change of vibe in how the Wallabies are perceived.
“You can certainly feel it,” White said on Stan Sport’s Rugby Heaven ahead of Saturday’s Rugby Championship finale against Argentina.
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“Days after a game when you win, you cruise around, I’m up here on the Gold Coast and have got the luxury to head down to the beach in the morning for a swim and people come past and say that they’re proud of your effort, there’s a bit of Wallabies memorabilia getting around. For a long time we didn’t have that almost.
“You’d walk around at times after a loss or something like that, hoping not to be seen and now having people come up and say how proud they are of your effort, it’s awesome. And I hope it is turning a corner but what we’re talking about in here is understanding the hard work that’s gone into that can’t now stop.”
The Wallabies can’t win the Rugby Championship but another victory over the Pumas will ensure they finish second in the competition behind New Zealand.
Last weekend’s clinical 27-8 triumph over Argentina was the first time Australia had won three straight since 2017.
The Rugby Championship will be followed by away Tests against Japan, Scotland, England and Wales.
“We’ve got ourselves in a position, our foot in the door you could say – now we’ve got to kick it down,” White said of Australia’s progression.
“We’ve got to continue to work hard every day, knowing that Argentina are going to come again this week. No Test game is easy, it’s only going to get harder and harder and as expectations become more and more it’s only going to get harder.
“So enjoying that grind and enjoying the working hard and then the feel good moments of walking around and having people proud of the way we play, proud of the efforts we’re putting into the jersey – that’s just a by product of that.”
White was asked by Morgan Turinui to identify particular areas of growth from the Wallabies this season.
“One thing we’ve worked on is just having a bit more patience,” the Brumbies veteran said.
“It’s hard to say you don’t want guys to take the shots. When they’re on, you do, but I guess we want to be not so reckless in going for it and not building pressure.
“Test rugby is about building a lot of pressure, playing in the right areas and I just don’t think we were doing that well enough at the start of the Test season.
“We’re starting to do that a lot better and we’re building a game rather than just going for the kill from the get go.”
White also had a laugh when asked to explain his crucial late breakdown turnover against South Africa which led to Quade Cooper’s clutch game-winner on the Gold Coast.
“I don’t really know, that’s not something I do very often, stick my head over a ball.
“I somewhat blacked out there. I didn’t really know what I was doing in there to be honest but just very lucky the scrum was going forward and just saw an opportunity so I jumped on it.”