Why Matt Giteau Will Be Australia's X-Factor at 2015 Rugby Championship

Almost four years to the day since his last appearance in an Australia jersey, Matt Giteau is poised to return to the Wallabies line-up in this year's Rugby Championship.

Giteau last represented his country in a defeat to Samoa on July 17, 2011, but the Australian Rugby Union's relaxed overseas policy has seen the Toulon playmaker come back into the international mix.

The Courier Mail's Jim Tucker (via Fox Sports) confirmed this weekend that Giteau had been named as part of coach Michael Cheika's 31-man squad for the 2015 Rugby Championship—and he's set to play a star role.

It seems almost fate-like that the 32-year-old's Wallabies comeback should fall so close to the anniversary of his first international exit, and we discuss why Giteau will ignite Australia upon announcing his return.

Something Old, Something New

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The international landscape has changed tremendously since Giteau last played a direct role in it, but in many ways, transitioning back to the Test arena is bound to have a familiar feel.

Australia are seeking change after settling for third place in each of the last two Rugby Championship campaigns, falling some distance behind New Zealand and South Africa in their quest for silverware.

However, while Giteau brings all the advantages of a new arrival, he won't bring any of its potential burdens, having already racked up a spectacular total of 92 caps since making his Test debut in 2002.

Ex-England centre Will Greenwood was among those to applaud the re-selection of Giteau and Toulon team-mate Drew Mitchell, hailing the former as "uber talented":

Cheika will welcome the rejuvenation. Despite being an old soul in pure numbers, Giteau will offer a fresh perspective to a squad full of young talent, but somewhat short on seasoned stars with winning experience.

The Top 14 titan comes from an era when the Wallabies were seen as one of the best teams in the world. Bob Dwyer, who coached Australia to glory at the 1991 Rugby World Cup, says Giteau can fire his old side to glory at this year's England extravaganza, per Delme Parfitt of Wales Online:

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Giteau brings the players outside him onto the ball and makes them carry the ball in front of him, so then he can get around them easily ... I just think he’s so far ahead of the rest, it doesn’t matter.

It [2015 Champions Cup final] was the number one world class performance by a flyhalf in the second level of rugby, if you can call European Cup rugby that, it was absolutely first rate. His acceleration to get the backline moving was fantastic. He ran straight and got his backline running straight.

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Giteau will be working with former Brumbies and Wallabies team-mate Stephen Larkham, a combination of wizened figures that's bound to get the back performing to specification in no time.

Dwyer touched upon the player's potential to help those around him play to their best, which we'll address later, but Giteau's presence in the team alone will be an enlightening tool for many of the younger figures in the squad.

Matt Of All Trades

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Despite being an expert technician at fly-half and inside centre, proven time and again during his four years at the Stade Mayol, one of Giteau's most obvious benefits is his unrivalled versatility.

I asked Rugby World's Paul Williams and Brett McKay of ESPN Scrum to summarise in three words what made the World Cup hopeful so alluring to Cheika, with both in agreement that versatility sat among his greatest strengths:

The player would have his backers to start in either the 10 or 12 jersey regardless of who was fit and healthy, but his ability to provide cover anywhere in the backs except wing is a terrific asset to boast.

Laura-Jane Jones of Sky Sports believes Giteau is unmatched in terms of malleability, a "Jack of all Trades" tag that can sometimes prove the downfall of some players too versatile for their own good:

In fairness to Matt Toomua, the Brumbies star offers his own pedigree at both fly-half and inside centre, but he's merely not on Giteau's level in terms of quality in those roles; very few are.

Cheika will pray injuries don't force him to shift Giteau about too often and the Rugby Championship provides a good chance for the player to tie down one position ahead of the World Cup.

It's not every day a coach gets the opportunity to pick a three-time European Cup winner who sits among the world's elite in one role, never mind several.

Southern Foundations With a Northern Twist

And speaking of European rugby, Giteau's time in the south of France could come to be a blessing for the Wallabies, despite foreign temptations being viewed for so long as a bane of the national team.

He and Mitchell will make history in the Rugby Championship, where they're poised to become the first overseas-based players ever to represent Australia, and they deserve their place in the record books.

What will be extremely interesting, though, is to witness how Giteau's time in France will benefit him when it comes selection, what more can he offer that those confined to Super Rugby cannot?

It's well-founded Giteau is best-suited to a puppeteer role regardless of where he's fielded, and OptaJason outlined just how prolific the maestro was in teeing up his team-mates last season:

Playing for Toulon, the first team in history to claim three back-to-back European crowns, it's evident Giteau has been not only featuring for the continent's very best, but pulling their strings for much of his stay.

Nick Cummins was quoted by Vince Rugari of the Associated Press (via Fox Sports) this week as saying his former Western Force team-mate still looks as spritely as ever among a younger cast:

“Bring in the old dogs, they’ve still got some fight in them. You see Gits out there, he’s still got it. Back in the day six, seven years ago I was playing with him at the Force and he still has that same zing. Credit to him, I don’t know how he does it. He’s going to be dangerous.”

However, he's now coming back into a lineup which, with the return of Mitchell as well, is beginning to remind fans of the team who beat the All Blacks 26-24 back in 2010, per the Sydney Morning Herald's Paul Cully:

That Bledisloe Cup meeting was the Wallabies' second-but-last win against New Zealand, and Cheika will be hoping old faces can mix with new ones to create a new legacy for the green and gold.

The former Brumbies and Western Force technician will give the vast majority of Australia's Rugby Championship foes a taste of something they've never faced before, bringing with him a broadened skill set complete with French influence.

The Key to Unlocking Wallabies War Chest

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So it's established Giteau is a dynamite acquisition on the individual scale, but no one man is an island, and Australia will need far more than just a single star to succeed at the Rugby Championship.

It's just as well, then, the recalled superstar specialises in the trade of enhancing those around him, something the Wallabies have been crying out for in the half-back positions especially.

Waratahs pair Bernard Foley and Nick Phipps have done their best to lead Australia as half-back tandem of choice, but as coach Dwyer touched upon earlier, Giteau simply optimises others for a living.

SA Rugby magazine have examined what Giteau's arrival means for Australia icon Israel Folau in particular, the full-back who would lead his team to huge titles were he delivered the service necessary to do so:

However, beyond that lies a slew of questions just begging to be answered in relation to what upgrades the mechanical Giteau can enact upon a back line that's struggled to reach its peak at times.

Will his introduction squeeze the best out of Tevita Kuridrani? What role will future Toulon team-mate Quade Cooper have to play in all this? Can Giteau give Adam Ashley-Cooper one final, fantastic hurrah?

What's so appealing about Giteau, though, is his lack of flash or flair in the way he carries himself, despite his style of play being so far to the contrary.

In terms of on-ball prowess, there aren't few in the world who are of his level, and yet Giteau has been quoted by Simon Thomas of Wales Online as saying if he isn't needed by his team, he's happy to step aside:

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That’s the biggest thing, if I feel like I’m not adding to this team I’ll go to ‘Cheik’ and say ‘look, there are better options here’. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I’ve come back to have a crack at something. Hopefully it all works out. You know within yourself. You know if you’re struggling, you know if you’re not up to it. You can’t be selfish. A World Cup is a huge honour and a huge occasion.

Any time you play for your country, it’s a huge honour and a huge occasion. It’s not something you want to take lightly and disrespect the jersey, as far as playing if I feel I’m not up to it. That’s why every training session I’m out there trying to prove myself and earn the respect of the players and coaching staff. It is like when I first came into the Wallabies, you have to find your feet and find within yourself that you belong.

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He may be turning 33 later this year and eyeing his final run at a Rugby World Cup, but Giteau sound like a player only just starting out his career, with a renewed vigour to impress.

In essence, that's what makes him such a terrifying prospect for his Rugby Championship enemies, taking on a superbly talented man possessed with the determination to make up for lost time.