Gear selection first and reverse !!

[Mr TDI]

We have just bought my wife a Passat estate, it is a 1.9 tdi 130pd on an 05 plate. Everything about the car is great, but I have one slight query that I could do with some help. Whilst the car is stationary selecting first or reverse gear is quite difficult, unlike my sat which has no problem in selecting gears. Mine has done 113k, my wifes has done 98k not that mileage is usually an issue. I found a thread on here with somebody who had a similiar issue, but there was no answer on what the problem could be except maybe the fluid in the clutch/gearbox not quite sure which. Wondered if this is a common problem.

Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers Mark