Jeremy Throws a Hissy Fit

Australian hooker Jeremy Paul is so enamoured about his move to Gloucester that he wants to be released from his contract with the ARU and move to the English west country straight away.

And to that end he has withdrawn from the Australia A squad ahead of the game against Tonga on Friday

And, least there be any misunderstandiing, the request has nothing to do with the fact that Wallaby coach John Connolly has omitted the 30 year old from the 30-man Australia senior squad for the June Tests even though Connolly maintains that “Jeremy is still very much in World Cup reckoning”.

Ah no, it’s just that JP wants, “to move on to the next chapter of my life,” and so this is, “not a knee-jerk reaction where I haven’t been picked so I’m going to spit my dummy,” he told the Daily Telegraph.

Of course it’s not. 

And withdrawing from the A squad has nothing to do with a the JP nose being out of joint. No, see it has to with getting on to the next chapter of life and that being the case he contends,  “you play those (Australia A) games to get back into World Cup contention. Well, that sort of defeats the whole purpose of asking for a release. ”

Sure of course it does.

See he has a bad shoulder at the moment. Actually had it for a while now. Had it before the senior squad was named. And before the A squad was named.

Mind you, he is a tad miffed with ol Knuckles Connolly for leaving him out (of the senior squad).

“My first six games this year were rubbish. But I don’t think I could have played any better over the last half of the competition. At the end of the day, John (Connolly) talks about picking on form. Yet he’s picked a captain (Phil Waugh) who has only played a couple of games all season. So where’s the picking on form?

“You can pull the form card out when you want it, but it’s pretty hard to take.”

No mention there of the bad shoulder, brave little soldier that he is.

No knee-jerk reaction.

Next chapter starts, “Sitting in my Gloucester rural red brick, I watched the television (wide screen plasma of course) images of me old buddies arriving in France to prepare for the World Cup opener. Seeing their unsmiling, glum faces, I knew immediately I had made the correct  decision……………