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Giteau knows the Dark Shark rules the...pond.
Lote tries his best
Article from: The Daily Telegraph
By Matt Giteau
October 06, 2007 12:00am
IT IS time to mount a defence in the case of Lote Tuqiri and the missing tries.
My dreadlocked mate out on the wing has been in the spotlight for a lack of five-pointers throughout the season and, in particular, here at the World Cup in France.
But with due respect to the legal profession, there is no need for a Queen's Counsel to help him beat the rap.
From the Wallabies perspective, we have no worries whatsoever that Lote has yet to break his drought four games into the tournament and ahead of tonight's quarter-final with England.
The reason is simple. We know what the Dark Shark brings to this team.[EDIT: He's the best, as everyone knows]
To suggest he is not earning his keep simply because his try-count is down overlooks some pretty important evidence - he has not had a lot of opportunities, is heavily marked, yet still makes a huge impact every time we get out on the field.
Count his line-breaks last week when he was playing in the centres against Canada. He threw the final pass for three tries.
Go back to the Super 14 series. He only scored one try but a compelling stack of statistics revealed his true value to the Waratahs.
He carried the ball more and beat more defenders than any other winger in the tournament.
These are the qualities that make him a guy everyone in this squad wants alongside them, especially now we've reached the business end of the World Cup.
He has a physical presence and the ability to get us across the advantage line every time the ball hits his hands.
Other teams know the threat he poses. That's why they're like moths to the flame whenever we move the play in his direction.
Obviously Lote wants to be scoring tries. He could have got one against Fiji when he loomed up unmarked on my outside.
But, hey, there was a metre for me to travel, and no one blocking my path.
There was no way I was going to offload and give him the soft touchdown.
It's not the way this team works. The top priority is winning the match. The names on the score sheet are unimportant because the end result is what really matters.
By the same token, you can tell Lote is not exactly over the moon about his current try-starved position (which we only remind him of occasionally).
He's a proud and passionate bloke. He wants a piece of the action.
But what people have to realise is that his contribution to the Wallabies extends well beyond placing the ball over the line. He is creating the chances for other blokes to do that, and a flood of tries for him are surely not too far away.
With any luck the dam wall will burst tonight in what is a massive and sudden-death game for us.
There has been plenty of hype in the build-up, and a media focus that has surprised some of the newer players in the squad.
But we're focused and ready.
We know what England will bring to the table. It won't be pretty but it will be confrontational.
Our forwards, especially, are looking forward to the challenge of taking on the England pack.
There has been so much said about what happened to the scrum two years ago. But this is a different time, a different team.
We're confident we have all we need to bring down the defending champions - and that includes Lote out on his wing, just waiting for the chance to strike.
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CHEERLEADERS ROCK!!! 
Originally Posted by lmaag
I'm totally disowning him for this crack...
"Remember lads, rugby is a team game; all 14 of you make sure you pass the ball to Giteau." 
