by Our Sports Desk

Matt Giteau has gladly rewritten his plans of earning money on the speaking circuit to help Australia to the brink of claiming a spot in the World Cup final this weekend.

Giteau celebrated his 100th cap with a man of the match performance in Sunday’s controversial 35-34 victory over Scotland and now faces a semi-final appointment with Argentina at Twickenham.

The 33-year-old has benefited from coach Michael Cheika’s demand to the Australian Rugby Union that they reverse a long-standing policy by allowing him to pick overseas players if they have made 60 or more international appearances.

It has lured Giteau away from his Test exile at Toulon where he has been magnificent since his shock exclusion from the Wallabies’ World Cup squad in 2011.

“I never thought I’d be playing in a World Cup semi-final a year ago,” Giteau said.

“I thought I’d be doing a couple of speaking gigs to get a bit of cash. That was the plan but it’s just been an amazing ride for me this last six months.

“We showed a lot of character at the end against Scotland. Personally, I’m just happy we survived another week.

“The 100th cap was good but the man of the match award I think should have gone to someone else in our team.

“We take a lot from the way we regrouped, how calm we were when they scored a try with only four or five minutes left.

“We were able to get down their end and apply pressure. We took a lot of confidence out of that.”

Giteau will duel with Toulon teammate Juan Martin Hernandez when Argentina attempt to reach the final for the first time on Sunday.

“Juan is a beautiful man — I’ve always told him that at Toulon. He’s very skilful, he’s tough, defensively strong and adds a lot of stability to that team,” Giteau said.

“I know what it’s like to play with him, especially in big games. He is a very, very good player.”