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Sydney - Coach Robbie Deans said on Thursday he had no issues with Matt Giteau after controversially leaving the one-time Wallabies' golden boy out of Australia's squad for next month's Rugby World Cup.
The omission of the 92-capped Giteau and the shock dumping of Rocky Elsom as skipper for James Horwill were the major talking points from the 30-man squad announced by Deans.
Giteau, 28, has long been one of the first-choice Wallabies since his 2002 Test debut but he was officially left out of the squad after after hinting via his Twitter account on Wednesday that he would not be at the World Cup.
Deans denied there was any friction with the gifted back and said he would "absolutely" have no hesitation in recalling Giteau should any of Australia's key playmakers get injured at the World Cup in New Zealand.
"It's nonsense (that we don't get on)," Deans told reporters.
"His attitude is exceptional. You don't get to play 92 Tests and have that sort of longevity in the game without having a good attitude."
Deans said Giteau "took it well" when he learned of his World Cup snub on Wednesday.
"There's no easy way to deliver that sort of news," Deans said.
"I wanted to be able to talk to him face to face. I didn't want to impart the message via a text or a phone call. He's earned that respect."
Deans said the 2009 Australian player of the year remained on World Cup standby.
"It's a long road, there's a long way to go," he said of the six-week tournament.
"We've got a 17-13 split (of forwards and backs) so the likelihood of us needing someone beyond the existing group is high."
Deans refused to divulge why Giteau had been axed.
"I don't want to go into specific details. It's tough enough for him to swallow without picking over that as well," he said.
Giteau now looks to taking up his playing contract with French club Toulon after the World Cup without having won any major silverware with the Wallabies.
The two-time World Cup representative has never hoisted the Webb Ellis Trophy nor won the the Bledisloe Cup against New Zealand or the Tri Nations crown.
