The Rugby Union Players’ Association in Australia has launched a health and safety investigation after two Australian props were injured when a scrum collapsed in last week’s game against the Barbarians at Wembley.

Australia coach Robbie Deans tonight insisted Twickenham “holds no baggage” for the Wallabies despite their poor recent record at the ground.

Teenager James O’Connor is set to become the second-youngest player ever to pull on an Australia jersey after being named in the squad to tour Europe later this year.

Luke Burgess and Peter Hynes will make their Australia Test debuts against Ireland in Melbourne on Saturday after Robbie Deans announced his first team selection as coach.

Robbie Deans has named seven uncapped players in his first Australia squad for the Test against Ireland on June 14.

Wales 3 Australia 25

Australia internationals Lote Tuqiri and Matt Dunning have been hit with a midnight curfew for the World Cup after attending a disciplinary hearing today.

Australia prop Matt Dunning is relishing the prospect of his personal clash with New Zealand tighthead Carl Hayman in the Wallabies' next Tri-Nations match later this month.

Australia coach John Connolly is boosted by the return of fly-half Stephen Larkham for Saturday’s Test against Wales in Brisbane, while Western Force winger Digby Ioane will win his first Wallabies cap.

Julian Huxley has been named at full-back for Australia in Saturday’s Test against Wales at Telstra Stadium, while George Smith and George Gregan will start on the reserves bench.

The Wallabies will have joint captains during their upcoming nine-match Bundaberg Rum Rugby Series with Phil Waugh and Stirling Mortlock to share leadership duties.

PROP Matt Dunning might be the only change to the Australia side for the clash against Wales at the Millennium Stadium tomorrow - but it is a significant one.

Ireland 14 Australia 30

Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan is giving most of the side hammered 45-7 by New Zealand a second chance as he keeps changes for today’s clash with Australia to a minimum.

Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan today admitted he has been left confused by the failure to punish All Blacks centre Ma’a Nonu for his spear tackle on Gordon D’Arcy.

AUSTRALIAN coach Eddie Jones is determined to brazen out the criticism and follow his own instincts as he bids to halt a depressing run of international defeats at Lansdowne Road tomorrow.

Australia head coach Eddie Jones has axed tight-head prop Al Baxter for Saturday’s clash with Ireland at Lansdowne Road and gambled on an inexperienced front row.

ON SUNDAY, six months to the day after his last game in charge of Munster, Alan Gaffney returned to Irish shores.

Australia have received yet another injury blow with the news Matt Giteau has a slight fracture to his knee.

NEW ZEALAND coach Graham Henry believes the All Blacks still have a long way to go if they want to win the 2007 World Cup despite confirming their place as the world’s number one team.

Australia’s dismal run of injuries continued on Friday when NSW Waratahs prop forward Matt Dunning failed to complete training.

WALLABIES captain George Gregan said South African coach Jake White’s claim that infiltration of rugby league culture is damaging Australian rugby was “hysterical.”

DEFENDING champions South Africa go into this afternoon’s Tri-Nations opener against Australia at Loftus in Pretoria as favourites to get their campaign off to a winning start.

AUSTRALIA have made four changes for Saturday’s Tri Nations opener against South Africa in Pretoria, with Matt Dunning, John Roe, Morgan Turinui and Daniel Vickerman coming into the starting line-up.

GRAHAM HENRY has revealed that Tana Umaga may well sit out tests in the build up to the next World Cup.

New Zealand retained the Bledisloe Cup with victory over Australia in wet and windy Wellington today.

Morgan Turinui, a try-scorer in yesterday’s 34-13 victory over Scotland, has been dropped from the Australia squad to take on England in next Saturday’s World Cup final rematch.

Australia have included five new players in their squad for the forthcoming Tests against Scotland and England – and they are all from the Super 12-winning ACT Brumbies team.

THE battle lines were drawn yesterday for Saturday’s World Cup final as England and Australia named their sides.

Prop Al Baxter and his front-row colleagues have vowed to win the World Cup on Saturday for their injured Wallaby team-mate Ben Darwin, whose rugby career hangs in the balance after he suffered a neck injury in Australia’s semi-final victory over New Zealand.

Australia coach Eddie Jones made just one enforced change to his side for Saturday’s World Cup final and then backed his relatively inexperienced forward pack to give England an almighty test.

Australia prop Ben Darwin has been ruled out of the World Cup final but hopes to be well enough to attend next Saturday’s game.

Wallabies captain George Gregan believes Ireland will provide Australia with the ideal World Cup litmus test in tomorrow’s hotly-anticipated Pool A showdown.

Australia handed their second-stringers a chance to impress against minnows Namibia in today’s World Cup Pool A match at the Adelaide Oval.

Chris Whittaker will lead Australia for the first time after Wallabies coach Eddie Jones made the expected sweeping changes to his starting line-up for his team’s World Cup pool match against Namibia in Adelaide on Saturday.

AUSTRALIA coach Eddie Jones is hopeful lock David Giffin will be fit enough to play a significant role in the Wallabies’ Pool A clash with Namibia this weekend.

Veteran flanker Owen Finegan was the biggest omission from Australia’s World Cup squad announced in Sydney today.

John Mitchell returned to his strongest possible line-up for New Zealand’s twin assault on the Bledisloe Cup and the world number one ranking this weekend.