The new, chilled-out Luke Burgess is confident his double act with Will Genia is tailor-made for the Wallabies' Rugby World Cup assault.

Halfback Burgess has made it a priority on Australia's spring tour to stop being too intense about his game and it showed in one of his strongest Test displays, a rare start against Italy a week ago.

He freely admits he has been too uptight about rugby.

"Absolutely, I always am," he told AAP.

"I love it, I'm passionate about it so there's always the risk of that.

"You've got to step back and have a think about what is going on as opposed to just being emotional about the whole thing."

It's something the reflective Waratahs No.9, who has copped his fair share of criticism in the past, has tried to get out of the five-Test tour.

"Just being able to enjoy myself and the job I do, that's something that I've been focusing on this tour, making sure I really enjoy it and do my best and (knowing) that's good enough," he said.

These days the 27-year-old spends most Test matches on the Wallabies bench trying not to play the game in his head before he gets onto the field.

It's a delicate balancing act - being up so you can hit the ground running, but not using up all your nervous energy.

"You've just got to try and get a feel for the game," he said of watching from the bench.

"If we're on top, you look at the way we're playing. If not, you've got to work out other strategies.

"So it's just about being strategic and not necessarily letting your emotions take you away from being focused on what needs to happen on the pitch.

"You have to work on it. I think it takes a while to try and be composed. I think I'm still working on it."

The Wallabies will take three halfbacks to New Zealand next year for the World Cup, but Genia and Burgess are favoured to revive their double act for the big games.

The pair meet before Tests to nut out a plan for how they should approach the match.

"Attacking it as a team of two is really helpful," Burgess said.

"It's good just to have each other there to talk to. He's a great bloke and we've gotten along really well."

Burgess believes he and Genia's complementary playing styles could bear fruit for Australia at the perfect time.

"If we form a strong combination, that's maybe another string to Australia's bow," he said.

"He's got my full support. I'm as big a supporter of Australian rugby as anyone so I just want to see us win."

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