I include the tahs coaching staff. they were naive in their selection of playing tactics. I’m being polite. I too am locked in. My SCG/SFS membership subs are due, about $1000, for what, the roosters, the Tahs and the cricket……… at least the gym is great.

as for the kids, there comes a time, even with the kids. I have offered them everything and they have taken virtually nothing. I have a brand new $800 cricket bat sitting in the lounge, just purchased, only 250 of them in Aust, never used and son is now demonstrating his lack of interest in cricket, despite being in two Green Shield final selection trials. There comes a point…………. we are all human

If I had posted it a week ago, all you would have got was the rant and the rave!

There were big discussions in our house about renewing our Life memberships for next year. We decided we would be in for another year.

It’s a bit like dealing with your kids.

Passion and love is worth a lot!

Just because they frustrate the heck out of you, cost you a fortune, fail their exams, lose their phones, come home with blue hair, go through periods without showing any enthusiasm for anything that they do or any appreciation of what you have sacrificed for them, you don’t give up and walk away.

You might get angry, rant and rave and give ultimatums, but, you hang in there.

Does that sound like a mother talking? Am I talking about my kids or my rugby team?

That’s why we will be back in Bay 14 next year.

I watched last year’s Eden Park and Hongkong Bledisloes again last week. Burgess was okay. But this year he seemed to tune out under pressure. Watch his eyes. His passing became sloppy. Perhaps Deans thought he might turn the corner and kept him far longer than a less desperate coach would.

PB, thanks for your comments above, your “that they show passion for the gold jersey” comment seems to be the common theme coming through, and one I completely agree with.

Jools, saw your post on Loges’ column today. Loges has come up with a quality idea, it deserves plenty of consideration..

By the way, several of you questioned Tim Davison’s omission from the 86-man Wallaby squad – he mentioned post-match at the Shute Shield GF on Sunday that he’s more than likely played his last First Grade game. Does anyone know if he’s heading overseas, or just pulling the pin?? Big loss either way…

I do not suggest withdrawing financial support, but the large % of people make a decision regarding the Tahs on a year by year basis. I suspect that the 2010 will be just one of the many casualties of the above problems that remain unresolved.

Drew Mitchell is the best example. He has one attacking weapon and hardly a WMD (weapon of mass destruction). the up and under. There are two variations, first without the kick chase and second with kick chase that doesnt include any intent to either win the ball or tackle the catcher. Both have the degree of difficulty of 0.1.

What are these inherent flaws you talk of and please don’t rattle off each mistake in Wellington as your proof. Give us somethings you have noticed about him throughout the season that say this kid is nowhere near ready for Test football.

The difficulty is that we measure ourselves against the best, and by virtue of a history of achievement (some would call it over-achievement) and the high standards by which Australians draw comparison, the bar is set very high. . Throw in the challenge of a highly competitive domestic sporting cauldron which sees League, AFL and Soccer looking to attract the interest of the supporter base, and anything less than the absolute best is not simply not accepted. Is this fair? Undeniably not. However this is the challenge.

So my response would be this: what we ask for our National team is not to win every game on every tour, to win every Tri-nations, to win every world cup; (although admittedly that would be pretty good) but to show that, every time they run out on the field, that they show passion for the gold jersey, that they remember they have been chosen to represent a country with a proud sporting heritage, a country that thrives on proving itself to the world, to fighting, to giving their all and not giving an inch, to coming out on top when the odds are against them, and if they do fall short to commend the victor because there is nothing more that they could have given on the day.

I recall one of the first Tri-Nations test Vs the Boks in 2007 in Cape Town, a strong hold of South African rugby, where Frans Steyn came on to kick 2 drop goals late in the game to sink the Wallabies who had been holding on to a thin lead for most of the last quarter through a fiercesome defence effort. Camped on their goal line, a wall of gold jerseys lead by Phil Waugh and Dan Vickerman smashed back wave after wave of enormous Boer forwards and hard running Springbok backs, refusing to capitulate under the onslaught, even as they could barley lift themselves from the ground to repel the next attack.

Even though we lost that game, I turned off the set as proud to be an Australian and a Wallaby supporter as if they had won. There is nothing more the wallabies could have done to win that game, and they gave everything they had on that field. If that sort of commitment, passion and aggression was seen everytime the Wallabies entered the fray, I think there would be far less negativity surrounding our national team.

I have one more DVD to watch: last year’s Australia v Wales. Then I hope to reply, mindful that I haven’t seen the Wellington test, and perhaps in another thread.

It wasn’t my intention to dismiss sports psychology. I simply think the Wallabies spend too much time thinking about beating the All Blacks and not enough time working on the problems that occur in every Bledisloe Cup Test. Six Tests is a long time to be making the same mistakes.