Wallabies Ponder What is Needed To Beat ABs at Home

Mark Rathbone will be selected to join the starting side in Auckland this weekend to try and beat the All Blacks on the hallowed turf of Eden Park. The rationale is apparently that the Wallabies want to take on, and even beat the All Blacks for pace out wide. I rate Rathbone, I reckon that he is a class act and would've been in the starting side had it not been for the injuries that kept him out of last season to a large extent. I think that it is a good move to rotate him into the side and put him out on the field, the Wallabies will be a better team for it. For moreon Rathbone's thought's on the matter, click here.

Meanwhile in New Zealand, many of the All Blacks were released to play in the Air New Zealand Cup games this weekend. This is the new domestic competition in New Zealand, a refinement of the National Provincial Championship that is meant to take New Zealand rugby into a new era where the smaller provinces might one day be able to foot it with the big boys. Lofty ideals, and it remains to be seen if it will work. So far the Tasman team seems to have done the best out of the new arrangement, bagging several top level players from Canterbury.

Back to the Tri-Nations where the latest news is that Sitiveni Sivivatu, yet another flashy flying Fijian winger has joined the All Blacks squad in place of the luckless Scott Hamilton who is forced out of the squad. Apparently Sivivatu wont be playing this weekend, but is back in the mix to bolster the squad for the rest of the Tri-Nations competition. It is great to see him back as he could really inject some speed, enthusiasm, and unpredictability into the All Black back line again. The only other change is that Otago's Nick Evans is also back in the mix, covering for Luke McAlister who injured his jaw in the game against Taranaki. Hmmm, I wonder how that happened?!! A bash perhaps! For more on the new selections (but not much more) click here.

For a bit of a general whinge on the state of the game, and in particular the ailing fortunes of the Wallabies, click here. Greg Gowden attempts to provide some insight into the pre-game and halftime entertainment on offer to the rugby punter, a perhaps startling admission that he does not have many suggestions as to how the Wallabies could improve their game! I'll just say that the greased pig sounds like a good option, they could barbecue it at the end of the game for the visiting team to enjoy also. I also thought it was about time that someone suggested the singing of Waltzing matilda fails to get the crowd going and into what should be a spectacle of physical endurance and athleticism. Frankly, I don't think that they have too much to worry about. The team will be smarting from two weeks of getting caned by the normally compliant media in Aussie and will be wanting to make an impression where it counts, on the field against the All Blacks. We could be in for a good game this weekend I reckon, and we wont need to rely on the half time entertainment to get a crowd along.

Unfortunately it seems that the rotation policy for the All Blacks may be at an end. For more on that click here. I say unfortunately because clearly there are some areas of the All Blacks game that need considerable work. The lineout is one, and the other is the back line need to become more structured on attack. Any team that is able to deprive them of the ball by not making errors and turning over the ball, will deprive the All Blacks of their main method of scoring. However, the rotation policy had to end at some stage, and perhaps the end of the Tri-Nations would be best. They will, after all, need some more time to play together on the end of year Northern Hemisphere tour.

Media beat up of the week goes to the stories about Daniel Carter converting codes to become, yes that's right, a soccer star! Yeah, whatever! I first read this story last week, and didn;t bother to comment on it as it was laughable then, and is even more so now. Apparently the last best hope of New Zealand donned some soccer boots to help out a friends team over the weekend, and now he is being rumoured to want to transfer to soccer full time! Yeah, whatever. In this article Chris Moller has been asked to comment on the revelations, and says quite properly that the ABs have to have interests outside of rugby. I do like the headline though "Carter Code Switch Cleared", which make sit sound like he actually wants to, and has been given permission, to play soccer full time! Nice one! For more humour, click here.