Wests Tigers captain Robbie Farah has spoken of his pride in pulling on his first Australian jersey.

Farah spoke to Wests Tigers Media Officer Wayne Cousins about his Test debut and playing against Gareth Ellis. Farah has been named as starting hooker for the Test against France this weekend after Cameron Smith was rested by Australian Coach Tim Sheens.

WC: Congratulations Robbie on behalf of everyone at Wests Tigers and our members on making your Test debut. Take us through the moment when Tim told you were in the team.

RF: Firstly, I like to thank everyone at Wests Tigers for all the support that I’ve personally have had in my career. From everyone in administration, the coaching staff, my team-mates and our great fans, I’d like to say thank you. You have all been a big part of my life for the last seven years now and I hope seeing me making my Test debut brought you some joy. Without all of you, it wouldn’t have happened. Tim named the side on Tuesday just before training and at first, I had to make sure I really heard my name read out. He only named 17 and told me I was playing. I think the six man bench that was named in the media was to throw the Poms off a little. I was that excited at training. As soon as we finished, I messaged my friends and family back home to tell them the news.

WC: Did any of your family fly over for the match? What did you think of when you stood there lined up for the national anthem. I suppose number 17 is now a favourite number?

RF: The family didn’t come over because of the short notice but my brothers and my dad are planning to come over for the France Test this week and the final. It will be great to have them here with me. I can’t wait. The thing I remember most was being presented my Australian jersey from Alfie Langer before the game and then putting my gear on thinking to myself “I’m now about to play for my country". It was hard to believe. Singing the national anthem was something I’ve always dreamed about. Yeah, I guess 17 might be a good number for me from now on but I still prefer 9!

WC: You came on in the 30th minute replacing Cameron Smith. Tell us what the pre-game plans were for you and Smith in terms of sharing the role. You defended strongly. Were you happy with your Test debut?

RF: Yeah, coach told me I’d only be playing about 25 minutes, just before and after half-time. It was a bit different coming off the bench and trying to get into the flow of the game but I will learn from that experience. I was happy with my defence but didn’t get too many opportunities in attack. When JT got sin-binned late in the game, I came back on at half-back to defend three in on the edge which I thought I handled ok.

WC: How was it playing against Gareth Ellis. I remember he ran the ball up hard from a penalty tap and you were the first to greet him. What about his try. Did you say anything to him about not scoring one for the Wests Tigers?

RF: I knew he was coming straight for me. Trust him not to pick on someone his own size, ha ha! It was good playing against him. I thought he went well. In the papers during the week, he promised Sheensy a try for his birthday. I can’t believe he scored one! It took him long enough but he deserved it.

WC: Australia is now in the box seat heading into the final round. You are expected to roll France quite easily but you can’t go in thinking that?

RF: No, we can’t. We need to build some momentum going into the final so not only is the result important this week but so is our performance. We were not happy with our second half last week so it is important we put a good 80 minutes of footy together.

WC: Any off field news or fun you like to share with us?

RF: It has been a pretty quiet week actually. We are based in Leeds now and because I knew I was playing, I tried to really relax on my free time. It was Halloween on Saturday night and Halloween is huge over here, so it was interesting to see all the locals dressed up and walking around town. I got to catch up with Paul Whatuira for lunch during the week too. I’m sure everyone back home will be glad to hear he is doing well now. Benny Galea also made the two hour trip to come and see me make my Test debut and we caught up for a chat after the game. It is always good to see some familiar faces. Also, I was very pleased to hear the news Wests Tigers will be playing four games each at Leichhardt and Campbelltown. Bring on 2010!