It's less than 18 months since Wallabies star Matt Giteau was being touted as the new Dan Carter.

On Saturday night (Sunday morning AEDT) against France, he will sit among the Australian reserves for a second straight Test match.

Last weekend, against Italy, he didn't make it onto the field.

The journey from main man to benchman has been as steady as it has been curious.

As the Wallabies prepare to play France in the final match of their spring tour, they might be reminded of the words of Les Bleus coach Marc Lievremont discussing Giteau in June 2009.

"For me he is the best playmaker in the world - he has perfected the position," Lievremont said then.

"Carter has been injured, but (Giteau) is at least of the same level.

"He is really at the summit of the world, one would say, as a No.10."

Not, it would seem, any more.

It didn't take long after Lievremont's comments for a downward spiral to begin - fairly or unfairly.

In late 2009, Giteau missed out on the Wallabies vice captaincy to Berrick Barnes, the man who has replaced him in the current starting line-up.

There had already been rumours about discontent and an awkward media session which was supposed to clear the air about his relationship with coach Robbie Deans was convened.

Fans were assured things were sweet-as.

But, as Australia struggled to just one win to finish last in the 2009 Tri-Nations series, calls for Barnes to replace Giteau in the No.10 jersey were growing louder.

Giteau preferred five-eighth to centre but a plan was hatched for the pair to share the first receiver duties on that year's spring tour.

An injury to Barnes meant, instead, raw No.12 Quade Cooper mixed and matched with Giteau throughout the grand slam campaign.

The next step back was hardly Giteau's fault.

Cooper's stellar Super 14 season for Queensland this year meant the Reds five-eighth and Giteau swapped jerseys in the Test side, the Brumbies star moving back to the inside centre position where he had made his name.

Overlooked for the vice captaincy, shunted to No.12, Giteau must have wondered what else could go wrong.

That soon became evident - goalkicking.

Giteau relinquished that responsibility after booting one from four against the All Blacks in Hong Kong last month, but crucial misses in Scotland in 2009 and England and NZ at home this year already had critics baying for blood.

Deans said at the time the decision would not have a major bearing on Giteau's selection, but two weeks later after a comprehensive defeat by England, he was on the bench and Barnes was on his way to booting eight from nine against Italy.

Deans declines to go into the specifics of why Giteau was dropped on form for the first time since 2006.

"I don't want to delve down into detail," Deans told AAP.

"There's not a lot of difference but there is some difference between the two players.

"We deal with the big picture here in terms of how the group comes together and he's still got a jersey on, as Barnsey's had for a long period of time.

"They've both contributed to what we've done all year, both players.

"You look at (the breakthrough win this year in) Bloemfontein where Barnsey came off the bench and made a difference to us.

"Now it's a different order but it's the same two blokes in the same team."

Australia's midfield defence, and Giteau's 85kg frame, has been one reason suggested for him being demoted, but statistics show the tenacious defender has missed just three tackles all season.

Instead, the stats suggest, attack has been Giteau's problem.

Rugby stats website espnscrum.com has Giteau making just one linebreak in 11 Tests this season, with no statistics available for the June Test against Ireland in Brisbane.

He's scored two tries, come up with one try assist and run for more than 20 metres in a game on just two occasions.

The man once dubbed Kid Dynamite seems to have lost his ability to explode.

"It's never that straightforward," Deans says of the attack stats.

"He's been a consistent part of the group so he's been integral. He's a leader in the group and he's been an integral part of what we do."

Giteau has never been far from the media gaze and his series of disappointments at least date back to the Firepower third-party deal gone wrong at the Western Force.

He was reportedly left $1 million out of pocket when the fuel additive company scam became evident.

He has handled the latest setback stoically, says Deans.

"He's been a starter for a long period of time, I think he's responded really well to the fact that he's now being asked to come off the bench," the coach said.

"He's clearly resilient, you don't get 90 Tests without resilience."

Giteau may well be Australia's highest paid player at next year's World Cup in New Zealand, but his role remains up in the air with just five Tests before the Wallabies kick off their campaign for the Webb Ellis Cup.

Deans says his World Cup planning is "right where we want it to be" but the extended Super Rugby season means all roles, Giteau's included, are still to be finalised.

"There's potentially 18 games of Super Rugby so there's a long way to go, an awful lot to be done prior to then," he said.

Giteau will be 29 at the end of the World Cup and just possibly well and truly over the ups and downs he has experienced in Australian rugby.

Two years ago, billionaire Bayonne owner Alain Afflelou put $10 million on the table and Giteau admitted he considered asking for a release from his ARU deal.

It remains to be seen what he might attract after 2011.

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