Baxter - don't write me off yet
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MAKE no mistake. Al Baxter isn't ready to hang up his boots just yet. If anything, returning to club rugby today has reminded the exiled Wallabies prop of the reason why he picked up those boots in the first place.
"You forget sometimes but it really brings back home why you are playing at a professional level - because rugby is a great game and a ton of fun to play," he said.
Life has been anything but fun for Baxter recently.
After rebuilding his career in recent seasons to become a respected Test prop, a troublesome winter has seen the 32-year-old swiftly tumble out of the Wallabies team, and this week, off the bench as well.
The problems began when Baxter was penalised repeatedly in Australia's opening Tri-Nations clash in Auckland in July for collapsing scrums.
Things improved in South Africa but Robbie Deans' suspicion of referees being determined to unfairly scrutinise Baxter were confirmed in Sydney when he was penalised early. With the writing on the wall, Baxter was replaced after just 30 minutes.
Ben Alexander took over at tighthead and, this week, Pek Cowan's mobility off the bench saw Baxter dropped altogether.
It's been a painful fall from grace. But wearing the red and black of Norths against West Harbour today, Baxter has been challenged to show Deans he has the desire to make it back. To show he still wants it.
So the burning question is ... does he?
"Absolutely, I have a huge amount of ambition left," Baxter said. "I am busting to keep going.
"They (Wallabies coaches) want me to get game time and have a run around. I know what I need to do, so I just want to get out there and do it."
Having recently re-signed on until 2011, Baxter doesn't want his Test absence to be long-term.
So this week he went back and consulted with NSW and former Wallabies pack mentor Michael Foley - the man who is credited with fixing the Aussie scrum in recent years.
"I called up Foles. He does scrummaging with all the NSW guys each week," Baxter said. "It was just revisiting a few things and going over some simple stuff."
As to the question of whether his heart was still in the game, the affable prop got his answer soon after lobbing at Norths training.
"You can forget why you started playing and at club level it is really enjoyable," Baxter said.
"It's a ton of fun and sometimes when you haven't been getting much game time and are just training all the time, you lose sight of that a bit."
A dominant individual performance at North Sydney Oval will go a long way to reclaiming his gold No. 3, but ask Baxter what he wants from today's game and you get the sort of response you suspect Deans would approve of.
"A win for Norths."
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/spo...-1225769635456
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Originally Posted by Burgs
