Qantas Wallabies scrum-half Will Genia admits he is only finally now getting over his British & Irish Lions heartache.
The Queensland Reds No.9 was instrumental in the first two Test of the series this summer before the visitors stormed to victory in the decisive third clash in Sydney.
Genia was guilty of a knock-on at the start of that historic third encounter and struggled to regain confidence during the Rugby Championship.
Genia found himself in and out of the side during that tournament but looked to be back to somewhere near his best for the autumn series tour of Europe.
And the 26-year-old is confident that he is a much-improved performer for his gruelling 2013 experience.
“That was huge,” Genia said of the impact of the 2-1 defeat.
“The fact it still hurts just thinking about it probably says it was emotionally big and it was.
“It was good to finish off the year on a high.
“To finish off being back in the team, finish off playing well and with (a winning tour).
“It was a big year, it was a tough year. It was one that I learnt a lot from, being in and out of the team, and one that I needed to go away and learn a lot about myself as a person.”
