Ireland A v Australia A: While the Ireland A players will be hoping to catch the eye of Irish coach Eddie O'Sullivan at Thomond Park tomorrow night (kick-off: 7.30), a number of the Australian players are hoping John Connolly's disappointment at how they dealt with Italy last weekend will encourage him to make changes for Sunday's Test in Lansdowne Road.

Indeed the Wallaby coach said as much yesterday in Dublin's Burlington Hotel at the announcement of the Australian A line-up. Before the squad's afternoon run-out at Wanderers, Connolly reiterated that there were still Test positions available against Ireland for players who were able to prove themselves.

"We are looking at a couple of positions in the Test team and there are a number of players in this Australia A team that can put themselves in the reckoning for the final two Tests with a good performance on Wednesday," the coach said.

"We are looking closely at some changes to the backline for the Ireland Test, and we will be watching the performances of the outside backs with plenty of interest on Wednesday night."

The halfback and inside-centre combination of Matt Giteau, Mat Rogers and Stephen Larkham was criticised after they struggled to find any real punch in Rome on Saturday, where Italy came close to landing what would have been their best result.

While the Wallabies squeezed out a 25-18 victory, the team shipped sharp criticism over their performance. Outhalf Rogers was singled out for most of it after a number of handling errors and a poor kicking game added to the Australian disarray.

With that in mind, Mark Gerrard will step on to the pitch at Thomond Park with more on his mind than just beating Ireland. It will be Gerrard's second full match in the outhalf position.

"I think last time (Ospreys game) we threw Mark to the wolves a bit," said assistant coach John Muggleton. "We asked him to play the Wallaby way, rather than play to his strength at 10. He's got a good kicking game, a good passing game and he is a great runner.

"We'd like to see him play a more direct game, rather than the kind of game Stephen Larkham or Mat Rogers would play."

Rogers conceded that his kicking was not up to scratch, but he put the rustiness down to a knee injury that has prevented him from practising in the run-in to Australia's last two Tests.

But the outhalf knows his place is under threat, especially if Gerrard plays well against Wasps and Ireland A number 10 Jeremy Staunton.

"It's funny, because I actually felt that I went better (on Saturday) than I did the week before," he said. "Personally, I felt a lot more comfortable. Speaking to Steve, he also feels the same way. Last week was the first time we had played in nine weeks, and for anyone to believe we will immediately play the house down is a bit unrealistic.

"I thought we worked better together, although we didn't have the go-forward we probably would have liked. It can only get better and, with another opportunity, the team can only perform better. You have to give a team a chance to gel in different situations. We're not that far away.

"You try to cover all bases, but you have to make sure your body is up to scratch. I'll have to grit my teeth and actually do some kicking this week, and make sure when I do come out next week, if I do, my kicking game is up to scratch."

With that in mind, the Irish backline will face a number of players who will have a realistic chance of playing their way into the Wallaby Test side.

Luke Fitzgerald at fullback, John Kelly and Rob Kearney on the wings, centres Barry Murphy and Kieran Lewis, along with Staunton and scrumhalf Eoin Reddan, can be sure the Australians as much as the Irish are playing for World Cup places. Little chance, too, of Ireland being taken lightly.

"They've been able to keep the same side together for three years and they've grown better and better each season," said Australian centre Scott Staniforth. "At the moment, they're at the top of their game and we've got our work cut out.

"It was a great performance against the Boks. Going into game, I thought Boks might just take it. But for Ireland to win so comprehensively raised a few eyebrows."

AUSTRALIA A: C Shepherd; A Ashley-Cooper, M Turinui, S Staniforth, D Mitchell; M Gerrard, B Sheehan; B Robinson, T McIsaac, R Blake, A Campbell (capt), J Horwill, S Fava, S Hoiles, D Lyons. Replacements: T Polota-Nau, N Henderson, M Chapman, G Smith, J Valentine, G Fairbanks, C Rathbone. Coach: J Muggleton