WILL Genia can nervelessly stare down the haka yet the Wallaby skipper turned into an anxious mess before proposing to sweetheart Vanessa Perren.
The champion halfback was so late back from a head-clearing run that his fiancee had already eaten at home alone before he composed himself and hatched a secret marriage proposal last week.
"Will proposed in the carpark at Sushi Train," a beaming Perren laughed yesterday.
"That's because he was so flustered. He went on such a ridiculously long run I ate at home before he insisted we still go out for a meal.
"Will does have a romantic streak. He's taken me to the Maldives, he's written poems and he bought the diamond in South Africa earlier this year. I'm so excited."
Former Test cricket skipper Allan Border proposed to his wife Jane in his old VW outside her home in Sydney back in the 1970s so the true meaning of love is in the sentiment, not the surroundings.
Genia yesterday admitted he was flummoxed over just how such a monumental moment in his 24-year-old life should unfold.
"I went for the run to get my head around exactly what to say and how to do it but it turned into two hours away because I rang Ness's mum (Kathy) for permission," Genia explained.
Genia had always teased that the jeweller's box in which he received his 2011 Super Rugby championship ring would one day have a diamond sparkler in it for his girlfriend of five years.
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"The plan was having the box in the car on the way to dinner but instead of opening it, Ness tried to put it away in the glovebox unopened," Genia said. "We're not flashy people so it doesn't matter where I proposed just that she said 'yes'."
Genia had the engagement ring designed by Hardy Brothers in Brisbane, the same jewellers who made the ring bling for the Reds after their title last year.
Genia will be buzzing with his own ring of confidence tomorrow night in Perth when the Wallabies take on South Africa.
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