Engaging news: Australian scrums show promise
Greg Growden
April 9, 2011
Power pack ... the Waratahs' much-improved scrum is a welcome sign in a World Cup year.
Power pack ... the Waratahs' much-improved scrum is a welcome sign in a World Cup year. Photo: Vince Caligiuri
WHEN opponents start complaining about your tactics, it's a sure sign you're doing something right. You might even have them really worried.
Over the years, Australian front-rowers have grown accustomed to being laughed at for resembling puffed-up pillows.
However, it is only when the Australian scrums have at last gained some parity at set-piece time that the criticisms have come from a less personal angle, all aimed at undermining their progress. That was the case this week when the Chiefs queried the Waratahs' scrummaging technique.
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After several seasons in which the Australian scrums have wavered, the early rounds of the Super Rugby season have shown the local front-rowers are getting their act together.
It's not often Australian packs can boast scrummaging penalty tries. But the Waratahs could beat their chests last Friday night when they dominated the Chiefs' scrum, and got the five points for one collapse too many by the opposition. Adding to the Chiefs' pain was that just before the penalty try their tight-head prop Nathan White was sent to the sin-bin.
Admittedly, the Chiefs do not boast a sensational scrum, but what the Waratahs did to them shook them up. A few days later, Chiefs coach Ian Foster told the Waikato Times that the Waratahs' scrummaging was suspect. He argued that the Waratahs wedged in behind loose-head prop Benn Robinson, shifting players across on an angle to put further pressure on White. The complaint was that the Waratahs scrum did not remain square. ''Clearly, there were three Waratahs pushing across on Nathan White, and all that I would say is that we have had no issue at scrum time against New Zealand teams, but the Chiefs this year have had two games in which we've struggled at scrum time, and they've both been against Australian teams,'' Foster said.
It's not the first time Australian packs have been accused of devious methods. Wallabies officials have constantly complained in private they have been the ''victims of a misconception'' that their scrum is poor, and so are unfairly ''picked on'' by referees. They argue referees police them harder than opponents.
This has prompted the Wallabies coaching staff to constantly emphasise to their scrummagers that it's all about perception. This makes it imperative they stay up at scrum time and remain steady so that they don't give referees any excuse to focus on them. And in a World Cup year, the number of penalties and free kicks that come at scrum time can determine whether a team is successful or an early tournament casualty.
Australia's World Cup squad is expected to include four props and two hookers. The hookers are easy to pick - Tatafu Polota-Nau and Stephen Moore. The props are trickier.
Robinson is the loose-head prop front-runner, while at tight-head the selectors like James Slipper. The Reds match against the Stormers in Cape Town tomorrow morning will be a big test for Slipper, as he will be encountering a pack with its fair share of Springboks.
As Wallabies coach Robbie Deans likes props to be proficient on both sides of the scrum, the Waratahs' Sekope Kepu boosted his claims when he moved across and performed well as a tight-head against the Chiefs. Kepu might find himself vying with Ben Alexander for one World Cup spot, while also in the mix will be Ben Daley, Dan Palmer and Salesi Ma'afu. Several competent hookers in Ben Whittaker, Nathan Charles and James Hanson are hovering.
No matter what, talented candidates will miss out. That hasn't always been the case in a World Cup year.
