Eddie Jones recalls the time a “fat little bloke” named Will Genia was in danger of being cut before his illustrious professional rugby career had really begun.

On Sunday (2am AEDT) Genia is set to play his 100th Test for Australia when he runs out against Jones’ England team at Twickenham.

But Jones has revealed the halfback’s path could have been rather different.

He was Queensland Reds coach when Genia was coming through the ranks and says they were ready to move him on before he’d even played Super Rugby.

But the England boss said a heart to heart with Genia and his father proved to be the springboard for a stellar international career that began in 2009 when he came off the bench against the All Blacks at Eden Park.

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Will Genia of Australia poses for a portrait following a press conference at the Lensbury. Source: Getty Images

“I remember this fat little bloke in the academy,” Jones said.

“They said ‘nah he doesn’t work hard enough.’

“I remember having a meeting with him and his dad — I think his dad was an education minister for Papua New Guinea.

“We had a bit of a chat about what he needed to do and where he needed to go and I never saw a boy work as hard as him.

“I can always remember on a Thursday when we didn’t train he’d always come up and get a bag of balls and practice his box kicking.

“It’s a real tribute to him how hard he’s worked and what a great player he’s been for Australia.”

Genia has about 20 members of his family heading to London for the game.

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Although he insists ending a run of five straight defeats to England is his sole focus, Genia said becoming just the 10th Australian to reach a century of Tests was a huge milestone.

“It’s one of those things where you have to suppress that emotion because it’s obviously a big Test and all about the team,” he said.

“But it would be one of my biggest achievements, if not my biggest achievement, getting the opportunity to play 100 Tests for my country.

“I’ll hopefully celebrate it with a win afterwards.”

It has been one of the worst years for the Wallabies with just four wins secured from 12 matches.

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But Genia said the bond between the whole touring party in the UK was a strong as he has ever known, despite criticism of the players and coaching staff.

“I love this team,” he said.

“It’s like a family, it’s the most I’ve ever felt part of a team.

“Whether it’s because we’re staying tight because things aren’t going well or whatever it is, I don’t know.

“But it’s a group where there is so much belief and so much faith in what we’re trying to achieve.

“I’m a believer and I’ll be a believer until I am not here.”

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AUSTRALIAN RUGBY’S 100 CLUB

George Gregan 139 caps

Stephen Moore 129 caps

Adam Ashley-Cooper 117 caps

Nathan Sharpe 116 caps

George Smith 111 caps

Matt Giteau 103 caps

Stephen Larkham 102 caps

Sekope Kepu 102 caps

David Campese 101 caps