Wallabies' Nic White was 'nervous' over Springbok return, but lauds warm welcome in SA

In 2022, White was at the centre of a heated controversy after flopping to the ground following contact with Springbok scrumhalf Faf de Klerk.

White's theatrics resulted in referee Paul Williams incorrectly sending De Klerk to the sin-bin and the Wallabies eventually claiming a 25-17 victory.

The veteran halfback has since apologised, but the memory of that moment lingered as he prepared to face the world champions again.

"Obviously, I was a little bit nervous coming back to South Africa," White said. "After 2022, I must admit, I got a bit of a backlash and rightfully so. It's not a moment that I was proud of, but I'd like to think over 300 plus games, people can get past one moment that I apologised for after the game."

Despite his nerves, White revealed the Wallabies were warmly welcomed during their two-week stay in the country.

"The week I had in Johannesburg leading into that game, the hospitality we felt in South Africa was unreal," he said. "The people were so nice and that's what I remembered before '22. Obviously, I got a hell of a reception at the game, which is what I expected, getting off the bus and getting into the ground. But when you come face-to-face with everybody individually throughout the week, everyone's awesome over there and I love how passionate the people in South Africa are for their rugby."

The 34-year-old said the atmosphere both on and off the field reinforced his appreciation for playing in rugby's toughest environments.

"It really is a dream to get over there and then play in front of that sort of atmosphere," White said. "We had a good week in Johannesburg, obviously got a good result there and you could have thought that potentially Cape Town could have been a bit different. But again, people were lovely to us.

"I remember going down to the shop front, everyone stopping us and saying how good the game was, how well we played in Johannesburg. There was no sour grapes in terms of the results," he said. "I got mobbed in the shop front a couple of times. But it is absolutely awesome… I'd say for as many as I had to, for all the kids to take as many photos as I could because it's what the game's about."

The Wallabies ended their South African tour with one win and one defeat, with White conceding that the Springboks' tactical adjustments in the second Test proved decisive.

"We felt the pressure of the Springboks and what they can do with a little bit of a different game-plan," he admitted. "They really squeezed us and created some errors and those errors came off the back of the pressure they put you under, which is pretty immense. It was exciting."