Top 10 Scrummaging Nations in the World

[Blue]

Blue, thank you for sticking up for us, but if "the Italian scrum was not all that dominant", I'm starting to panic as to how we will go if we come up against a genuinely dominant scrum on Saturday.

Lol. I qualify then.

I meant not as dominant in the total destruction "shove your head up your arse" kind of way like we saw in June against England (I felt so sorry for Daley then that I felt obliged to start beating my Englsih mate next to me in retaliation).

For the first hour I thought the Wallabies weren't all that poor at scrum time. I am always one to get agitated at people moaning about the ref nailing the Wobs unfairly but I think this time he got played by Castro. On the occasions where Castro kept his big arse and shoulders square he didnlt go forward. When he shifted his body at an angle he very cleverley made it look like Slipper couldn't hold the weight or like the young lad was boring in. Clever bastard. Only half of him is power. Apparently he is a great cook as well.

 

[farva]

Sorry Blue, was colouring my memories from last year.

Steenkamp has been huge this year I will admit. Probably havent seen enough saffer games to really get my head around where they are at.

 

[baldingwingforward]

Similarly if Sheridan pops a hammy, England drop a couple of places etc etc.

I don't think so - just ask the Wallaby front row who played against the England 2nd choice front row in June. Sheridan is good but he is a little short of quality rugby at the moment following his shoulder ops. If he can stay injury free through to the World Cup that will be a different story... I'm looking forward to a repeat of the 07 RWC 1/4 final where he single handedly tore the aussie pack a new @rsehole!

 

[Slim 293]

I don't think so - just ask the Wallaby front row who played against the England 2nd choice front row in June. Sheridan is good but he is a little short of quality rugby at the moment following his shoulder ops. If he can stay injury free through to the World Cup that will be a different story... I'm looking forward to a repeat of the 07 RWC 1/4 final where he single handedly tore the aussie pack a new @rsehole!

Is Sheridan really the strong point of the English front row though?

He was manshamed by Baxter and Alexander in 2008 and 2009... I'm thinking Cole is their more important frontrower...

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

We'll see BWF. And presumably we'll have license to give you copious amounts of shit if that doesn't eventuate? A lot can happen between now and then, don't count your chickens.

 

[Blue]

Is Sheridan really the strong point of the English front row though?

He was manshamed by Baxter and Alexander in 2008 and 2009... I'm thinking Cole is their more important frontrower...

Definitely. Cole is the problem child. Not manu LH props seem to know whatto do with him. Once he splinters the bind between 1 and 2, the oppo 3 gets nailed as well.

He is a monster. Couple of weeks ago in a Top 14 game the commentator spoke about Hayman as "arguably the best 3 in the world." I argue.

 

[Bruce Ross]

Definitely. Cole is the problem child. Not manu LH props seem to know whatto do with him. Once he splinters the bind between 1 and 2, the oppo 3 gets nailed as well.

He is a monster. Couple of weeks ago in a Top 14 game the commentator spoke about Hayman as "arguably the best 3 in the world." I argue.

That reminds me, Blue, how I used to shake my head when Australian commentators described Benn Robinson as the best loosehead in the world. I don't recall many of them qualifying that with "arguably".

He was a very competent prop until injured, and hopefully can get back to that form, but how often was he able to turn his opposition 3 inside out or be part of a scrum which absolutely smashed their opponents?

 

[Joe Blow]

That's a bit scary as most rate the Frogs at 1 or 2 and us a long way South of that.
So by legal means, maniplulation or whichever means we should be reamed in the scrum on Saturday?

We never really get done by the French too badly at scrumtime.....at least up until now.
Why is that?

 

[Bullrush]

I am always one to get agitated at people moaning about the ref nailing the Wobs unfairly but I think this time he got played by Castro. On the occasions where Castro kept his big arse and shoulders square he didnlt go forward. When he shifted his body at an angle he very cleverley made it look like Slipper couldn't hold the weight or like the young lad was boring in. Clever bastard. Only half of him is power. Apparently he is a great cook as well.

Can anyone find in the IRB laws where it is illegal to either 'bore in' or to keep your shoulders 'square'? (By square, I'm guessing that we mean parallel to the opposition or the try lines?)

I've had a look thru the IRB scrum laws and can't find it myself.

 

[RugbyReg]

using my IRB iphone ap, its rule 20.2 Front-row player's position:

(a) All players in a position to shove. When a scrum has formed, the body and feet of each front row player must be in a normal position to make a forward shove.

 

[Bullrush]

using my IRB iphone ap, its rule 20.2 Front-row player's position:

(a) All players in a position to shove. When a scrum has formed, the body and feet of each front row player must be in a normal position to make a forward shove.

OK - I did read that but I thought 'WTF is a normal position?'. And Castro did push forward....

 

[RugbyReg]

OK - I did read that but I thought 'WTF is a normal position?'. And Castro did push forward....

not towards the goal line

 

[Viking]

Here's an interesting article on French scrum training and their secret scrum machine.

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-sport/france-has-a-secret-scrum-weapon-20101124-18777.html

 

[Scarfman]

Has someone got the French team for Saturday? I want to do a weight check. Because over the past 10 to 15 years, the French have always put out very light packs (often giving up 50kgs to top tier teams), and yet getting parity against those teams in the scrum.

Sounds like they have bulked up a bit and are now easily number 1.

They must have some bloody good program.

 

[Bullrush]

not towards the goal line

sure it was....towards the far corner flag of the goal line....

 

[RugbyReg]

Has someone got the French team for Saturday? I want to do a weight check. Because over the past 10 to 15 years, the French have always put out very light packs (often giving up 50kgs to top tier teams), and yet getting parity against those teams in the scrum.

Sounds like they have bulked up a bit and are now easily number 1.

They must have some bloody good program.

check the match thread.

 

[Aussie D]

Pity we don't see any of the Georgian games outside the World Cup as they have a handy scrum also. I wonder where they would presently rate in the scrummaging pecking order?

 

[Scarfman]

8 Sebastien Chabal 115
7 Fulgence Ouedraogo 94
6 Thierry Dusautoir 101
5 Lionel Nallet 115
4 Julien Pierre 106
3 Nicolas Mas 110
2 William Servat 103
1 Thomas Domingo 107
TOTAL 851

8 Ben McCalman 106
7 David Pocock 101
6 Rocky Elsom 106
5 Nathan Sharpe 115
4 Rob Simmons 115
3 Ben Alexander 117
2 Stephen Moore 112
1 James Slipper 113
TOTAL 885

Given that the Wallabies, South Africans, Kiwis, Poms, regularly run out 900kg+ packs, how the fuck do the French do it??

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Well there goes my theory out the window. They must have fantastic technique to be able to be as good as they are in the tight and frankly, the loose as well.

 

[Blue]

Fark. No 8 is the heaviest. That doesnlt happen often.