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Personally I think something is a little smelly here, you can't even start to convince me that Freier is a better Hooker than Paul, let alone him being rated behind all of Moore, Freier, Polota-Nau and Hardman.
Certainly he is currently injured however if Polota-Nau has the ability to use two or three ARC matches to improve fitness then why can't our most capped Hooker be given the same opportunity?
I certainly don't blame JP for wanting to get the hell out of this country when, after all he has given, he is being treated in such an off-hand and shabby manner.
I maintain that the current Wallaby Coaching team is ego driven when it comes to certain selection decisions and hide behind the "development" argument when called upon to justify their actions.
As stated previously, they have no mandate to develop our depth, all they are to be judged upon is the success of the Wallabies in France and this has been re-enforced publicly by the CEO they had to have in recent days.
Jeremy Paul: Brumbies (5th) Starting Hooker, 72 Tests (35 from bench but fighting it out with Brendan Cannon mainly), 14 Tries. 30 Years. 1.84m 104kg.
Adam Freier: Waratahs (13th) Mostly Starting Hooker, 13 Tests (Only 5 Starting), never scored. 27 Years 1.75m, 101kg .
Stephen Moore: Reds (14th) Starting Hooker, 15 Tests (10 from bench), 1 Try. 24 Years 1.86m, 112kg.
Tatafu Polota-Nau: Waratahs (13th) Occasional Starting Hooker, 3 Tests 0 Starts), never scored. 22 Years. 1.81m, 113kg.
Sean Hardman: Reds (14th) Reserve Hooker, 2 Tests (1 Bench), never scored. 30 Years. 1.83m, 105kg.
Paul's Cup chance next to none
July 04, 2007
AUSTRALIA selectors have officially slammed the door shut on Jeremy Paul, declaring the 72-Test veteran next to no chance of making the 30-man Wallabies squad for the Rugby World Cup.
Coach John Connolly admitted Paul was a long way "down the pecking order" after New South Wales hooker Adam Freier was named to replace the injured Stephen Moore (sternum) for Saturday night's Tri-Nations Test against South Africa in Sydney, with fellow Queensland player Sean Hardman promoted to the bench.
Paul, the John Eales medalist just two years ago as the Wallabies' player of the season, has been on the outer since the start of Australia's 2007 Test campaign, being overlooked for Moore, Freier, Tatafu Polota-Nau and now Hardman.
The New Zealand-born 30-year-old was expected to meet with ARU boss John O'Neill this week in a last-ditch effort to gain an early release from his Wallabies contract in order to link up with Gloucester in the English premiership.
"That's being discussed at the moment and I'd be surprised if he didn't get a release in the near future," Connolly said.
The Wallabies and ARU were initially reluctant to let Paul go, fearing they might need him for the World Cup in the event of a spate of untimely injuries.
Asked why they'd had a sudden change of heart, Connolly said: "Probably because Jeremy missed all the (Australia) A games".
"He didn't play in any of the A games. He's been out of rugby now since the 2nd of May basically, so it's quite a while and we think it's time to move on."
But amid speculation Paul is experiencing personal troubles off the field, Connolly refused to say whether he and fellow Wallabies selectors Scott Johnson and Michael O'Connor suspected the 1999 World Cup winner's heart was no longer in it.
"That's for Jeremy to decide. I'm not sure, but we've made our decision," Connolly said.
With Paul now officially out of the frame, Moore, Freier and Polota-Nau, providing he recovers from a knee injury suffered last month, are almost certain to be Australia's three hookers at the World Cup in France in September-October.
"We got a positive report on Tatafu yesterday," Connolly said.
"He'll start training in probably three to four weeks and be 100 per cent in that time.
"So that was a positive report. All indications are that he'll be available for (World Cup) selection.
"And we have national champion games - two or three games - for him to play before he goes, if he was selected."
AAP