The ACT Brumbies have hit back at criticism from Wallabies great David Campese, halfback Nic White insisting the team won't be distracted by scathing individual assessments as it focuses on a battle against the Queensland Reds.
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Campese took aim at some Brumbies backline players, in particular claiming White "can't handle the pressure" of international rugby.
White came under fire last year for his decision to kick the ball away in the last minute of a Bledisloe Cup Test against New Zealand, opening the door for the All Blacks to snatch a late victory.
White refused to buy into Campese's attack as he prepares for a two-week test against his Wallabies rivals Will Genia and Nick Phipps.
"You can't read too much into comments like that ... do I handle pressure? Yeah, I'm getting better at it, but I never thought it was a problem," White said.
"Everyone gets better at that with experience and getting older. I haven't put a whole lot of thought [into Wallabies], but obviously the jersey is Nick Phipps', it has been for a year.
"He plays the style that Michael Cheika wants to play. It's a fair fight to get it off him and you have to play well to get it. It's a challenge, but I've just thought about the Brumbies structure and playing well in that."
Campese also criticised Brumbies centre Tevita Kuridrani because he "never passes the ball", while he said Matt Toomua "is not really a No.10, he's more of a link".
Campese suggested that France-based Matt Giteau should replace White as the third halfback while Israel Folau should move to outside centre to replace Kuridrani.
Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham will be an assistant to Wallabies coach Michael Cheika at this year's World Cup, chiefly responsible for the back line.
"Everyone is entitled to their opinion and that's Campo's," Larkham said.
"I don't think any position in the World Cup squad is settled yet. It really depends how you play your game plan and whether guys can understand that.
"I think Whitey learns in each game. He's very smart and his understanding of rugby is superb. Tevita certainly has a passing game. I think Tevita's going to be the form 13 going into the World Cup."
Saturday's match against the Queensland Reds in Brisbane is a chance to go on the attack, having had limited possession in the past two weeks. But the Brumbies are also prepared to play to the conditions in Brisbane.
"In humid conditions, if you play too much with the ball you'll make a lot of errors," White said.
"But maybe we need to be better at forcing turnovers [at the breakdown] when we're defending. We've had limited possession because we're doing well with the ball we've got, and it's not taking 12, 14 or 16 phases before we score.
"We don't want to rely on having to defend 60 or 70 per cent of the game."
SUPER RUGBY ROUND FIVE
Saturday: Queensland Reds v ACT Brumbies at Suncorp Stadium, 7.40pm (AEST). TV time: Live on Fox Sports 2.
Brumbies team: 15. Robbie Coleman, 14. Henry Speight, 13. Tevita Kuridrani, 12. Christian Lealiifano, 11. Joseph Tomane, 10 Matt Toomua, 9. Nic White, 8. Ita Vaea, 7. Jarrad Butler, 6. Scott Fardy, 5. Sam Carter, 4. Rory Arnold, 3. Ben Alexander, 2. Stephen Moore, 1. Scott Sio. Reserves: 16. Josh Mann-Rea, 17 Ruan Smith, 18. Jean-Pierre Smith, 19. Jordan Smiler, 20. Blake Enever, 21. Michael Dowsett, 22. Lausii Taliauli, 23. James Dargaville.
Reds team: 15. Ben Tapuai, 14. Chris Kuridrani, 13. Chris Feauai-Sautia, 12. Anthony Faingaa, 11. Campbell Magnay, 10. Nick Frisby, 9. Will Genia, 8. Jake Schatz, 7. Liam Gill, 6. Adam Thomson, 5. James Horwill, 4. Marco Kotze, 3. Sam Talakai, 2. Saia Faingaa, 1. James Slipper. Reserves: 16. James Hanson, 17. Ben Daley, 18. Sef Faagase, 19. Dave McDuling, 20. Curtis Browning, 21. Scott Gale, 22. Sam Johnson, 23. Tom Banks.
