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Will Genia's Instagram message highlights how near the finish is for his stellar Test career

By Josh Raisey
Will Genia scores Australia's fourth try against Georgia in Shizuoka (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Wallabies scrum-half Will Genia is preparing for his final matches for his country as the World Cup pool stages draw to a close. 

The veteran earned his 109th cap from the bench in Australia’s final pool match against Georgia on Friday in Shizuoka, and with a potential match versus England looming in the quarter-final he knows that he has very few occasions left to put on the gold jersey. 

Following the scratchy win over Georgia, Genia shared a photo on Instagram with the caption: “Only a few more of these moments left before it’s all over. They have and always will be cherished.”

Should Wales beat Uruguay on Sunday, Australia will face England in the quarter-final in a game where they will be underdogs. 

Then should they get past that hurdle, they are likely to face the All Blacks in the semi-final which would be another Herculean task. 

A loss in the semi-final would at least ensure there is a bronze medal match left to play, but Genia knows that he has precious few minutes left playing for his country, as does his fellow retiring team-mates David Pocock and Sekope Kepu. 

The No9’s Super Rugby career is also over, as he is set to join Japan’s Kintetsu Liners alongside Quade Cooper. 

Since making his debut for the Wallabies, Genia has consistently been one of the leading scrum-halves in world rugby. He won the Tri-Nations in 2011, the Rugby Championship in 2015 and was a World Cup finalist that same year. He also won the 2011 Super Rugby title with the Queensland Reds when his partnership with Cooper was revered the world over. 

He made his name at the beginning of his career for the tempo he played with and his darting runs around the breakdown, with great pace to back that up. 

He has scored a number of long, mazy tries during his career that few other players in his position could do. Now at the age of 31, he may not have that speed he once had, but he is always dangerous around the breakdown and still has great distribution. 

Genia is part of a long line of legendary Australian scrum-halves, with George Gregan and Nick Farr-Jones before him. 

Regardless of what happens over the next few weeks with the Wallabies, he will be remembered as a great, but he will of course want to end his international career on a high. 

WATCH: The RugbyPass guide to Oita where Australia will feature in the World Cup quarter-finals