Good morning!

First up - ladies... check out this pic of Al Baxter (I won't hotlink it so you'll have to click on the link, but trust me it's deliciously worthwhile)

The Wallabies have copped a flogging in the media again this week. Eddie Jones and George Gregan have been the central targets. I agree with much of the criticism. Sorry Eddie and George. The only time the Wallabies started playing reasonably last weekend was for the 15 or so minutes that Gregan was off the field and Chris Whitaker was on it. I think Gregan is too slow to deliver the ball. But I've pretty much always thought that. I have also had a bug bear about the players selected. From the outside looking in, it appears that once 'you're in' you are most certainly 'in', and that's it. I personally found it rather alarming to see Clyde Rathbone and Elton Flatley out on the paddock last Saturday when they've had barely any game time between them in recent months. Yes, they are very good players, but...... there are a lot of OTHER good players in Australia. Give them a go! Hell, we've lost the Bledisloe, the Tri-Nations looks out of reach again, so what is there left to lose? National pride? Bah!! More like Jones' job I suspect.

It is very easy for me to criticize Jones - it isn't my career I'm flirting with. I admire the fact that Eddie Jones has backed Gregan for so long and has defended him staunchly. That's great. But now it's surely time to move on. What hope does Australia have for the 2007 Rugby World Cup if we keep trotting out the same old players. Same old injured players. Same old predictable play... same old same old. Talk about boring and unimaginative.

The ARU's Boks/Wallabies clash preview can be found over here. Yes, Eddie's made a couple of line up changes - but only because he's HAD to.

I can't see the Wallabies being much of a threat to the Boks tomorrow.

Later