Nic White has worn the No.9 jersey plenty of times before on the rugby field.

He has played halfback in Maitland Blacks junior teams, as a Newcastle age representative, with Sydney-based Eastwood, twice for the Australian under 20s and most recently with Super Rugby franchise the ACT Brumbies. 

But this Saturday night White will don the one he has long been searching for after being named to make his run-on debut for the Wallabies against Argentina in Perth.

“It feels a little bit surreal,” White told the Mercury from Western Australia yesterday.

“From a kid running around for the Maitland Blacks to now starting for the Wallabies is pretty special.” 

Australian coach Ewen McKenzie announced yesterday he had opted for White over veteran Will Genia, who captained the Wallabies last week, ­following three straight Test losses to open the 2013 Rugby Championship.

“Nic [White] has had a great season with the Brumbies and has brought his own brand of energy and hard work to the Wallaby group,” the new mentor said.

“We’ve all been impressed by the contributions he has made to the team and in training and we now look ­forward to seeing him bring his skills 

to the fore of the pressure cooker on Saturday night.”

McKenzie said it wasn’t an easy decision to make but admitted the 

23-year-old had earned his selection in the first XV with Ben Mowen to replace Genia as captain in the absence of injured first-choice skipper James Horwill. 

“The fact that Will [Genia] has ­captained his country shows what high regard we hold him in and while he is naturally disappointed I also know how competitive he is and I’ve got no doubts he will train himself to a standstill to bounce back as a better player,” he said.

“We’ve spoken about what areas we believe he can continue to improve and evolve his game and he was receptive to going back and addressing those things.

“In the end, it wasn’t an easy ­decision because he is undoubtedly a world-class player.

“However, we also feel Nic has earned an opportunity to start and will add his own uniqueness and point of difference to how we want to play this game.”

White became Wallaby number 870 when he came off the bench against New Zealand (49-27) in Sydney on August 17 before playing a similar role against the All Blacks (27-16) in Wellington late last month and against South Africa (38-12) in Brisbane on Saturday night. 

He had come close before but remained on the bench against Wales last year, was injured during the 2012 Rugby Championship and was brushed for 

the Lions series by former coach Robbie Deans.

Now given the chance White said he wants to make the most of it.

“Being so close before and building towards it for so long I want to make the most of this opportunity,” he said.

“Of course I will be nervous but I’m ­normally very nervous on game day anyway so it will be about controlling those nerves before the game.

“Once I get out there I think I will be pretty calm on the field and just play what’s in front of me.”

White will join an illustrious group of scrum halves to wear the gold Guernsey previously including George Gregan, Nick Farr-Jones, Ken Catchpole, Cyril Burke and fellow Maitland junior Luke Burgess.

His inclusion actually continues a dominance of the position by Hunter Valley products in recent times with White, Burgess and Singleton duo Josh Valentine and Steve Merrick all hailing from the region. 

The Rugby Championship continues for the next month with away fixtures for the Wallabies against South Africa in Cape Town on September 28 and against Argentina in Rosario on October 5. 

The third and final Bledisloe Cup encounter against the Kiwis is scheduled for Dunedin on October 19.

The Spring Tour of Europe follows in November with Tests against England, Italy, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. 

Saturday’s game kicks off at 8pm.