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Shock, horror. The English obliterated the Wallabies scrum last weekend at Twickenham and we now need an overhaul.
Is it just me or have we all heard this before? In 2005, at the same venue, same opposition, you just need to cut and paste the headlines.
At the time personnel were cast aside, but most returned after impressive Super Rugby form demonstrating their value to their teams. Bring on the 2007 Rugby World Cup and it all happened again. But that was due to the once in a generation prowess of Andy Sheridan, or was it?
The problem with Australian rugby is players like James Slipper. Now, that may seem harsh given his phenomenal work rate, great skill set and exceptional low tackling.
Technically he gets it right much of the time in the scrum also, but when push comes to shove, which it inevitably does in the engine room of an international scrum, he cannot compete.
Michael Cheika states that we are pre-judged by the referees and we may well be but you can blame the previous generation of players similar to James Slipper (Bill Young and Al Baxter) for that. So why aren’t we competitive in the front row?
A South African friend of mine succinctly summed this up a few years ago when we were discussing junior representative selections. ‘You Aussies are obsessed with turning the best rugby players into front rowers. The focus should be on turning the best front rowers into rugby players’. And there it is.
The temptation here is to transition a good flanker or centre into hooker or prop to get all the ‘best players’ in the team. But in the end all it does is devalue to importance of the scrum and lead to inexperience in key positions. Anyone who has played knows that a good tighthead is as critical as a five-eighth. He may not win you the game but without him, a loss is inevitable.
I heard scrum guru Jake Howard propose many many years ago that if Australia was serious about scrummaging they need to set up an academy and allow him to get the 20 best young props in the country together one weekend a month. He could then give the problem the attention that it deserves and fix it in two years.
There is a rumour that Cheika may be going down that route. I hope he does but it shouldn’t stop there. The Under-19 law variations need serious consideration of review and the best scrummagers should be sought for these camps rather than the best players who happen to come out of the junior competitions playing front row.
There is no doubt that the Under-19 law interpretations in Australia are playing a role here. With a depowered scrum enforced by the laws (you can only push one metre) there is plenty of incentive to shuffle more skilful players into the front row. What have you got to lose?
With plenty at stake, this was always going to happen but the problem is these players lead directly into state academies and contracts. So potentially, the big bloke who may actually be a real front rower if he were allowed to take advantage of his size and strength is relegated back to the lower grades and has no incentive to continue training post school.
Meanwhile, players like Sai’a Fainga’a hit the gym and work hard to become strong and big men that they were perhaps never meant to be.
It is well documented that front rowers will not hit their peak until late in their 20s and history shows us many a player in history played lower grades before making an international career. Back then, however, players weren’t fast tracked into coaching academies so a player could still access the same high level coaching through clubs while playing lower grades and blossom in later years. This is not the case these days with decisions being made very early on in playing careers.
Selection at all levels needs to reflect the prioritisation of the scrum. I am sorry Ben Alexander but it is your bread and butter. You may score plenty of fantasy rugby points and five pointers in Super Rugby but does your backline get good quality possession or do you ever force a turnover from the opposition from your expertise at the set piece?
In a country with limited depth in the sport and increased code competition when compared to our opposition, are we excluding some of our best candidates? I don’t think there is any doubt we are.
There should be more players of Will Skelton’s ilk that we work through the system. I am talking of big fellas that are naturally strong but may be rough around the edges and hence missed the boat in junior academies. They may be overweight or a little deficient in their handling or mobility but can shove a guys head through his backside. A professional training environment can fix those other things and it could be argued far quicker than the other way around.
The head in the sand approach doesn’t seem to be working and if you keep doing the same thing that has always brought you failure it will no doubt reap the same results again.
Let’s do this, otherwise we may as well now draft the article for the post 2019 World Cup, “In other news Wallabies coach Tony McGahan was upset their scrum was unfairly targeted in our shock capitulation at the hands of Wales in Tokyo overnight”.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.