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Hello again! It has been a good number of months since the last scrum inspection. Today, we will have a close look at the Australian scrum, focusing on the first match of the Wallabies and Springboks’ campaign towards the World Cup.
For the first eight key engagements, the Springboks dominated the Wallabies scrum, picking apart weeks and weeks of Aussie training with sheer power.
You can see immediately in the first engagement, the Wallaby tighthead pod issues, specifically Will Skelton’s inability to protect his pod.
Conversely, you can see the perfect formation held by Tendai ‘The Beast’ Mtawarira and his pod as they power through, knocking back Sekope Kepu’s pod and bumping off Michael Hooper from his side.
Harry Jones says: “I like the parallelogram of the Bok scrum: all spines on virtually the same plane. No.8 Schalk Burger is organising bums well. Bismarck du Plessis has his hands tucked under the props’ deltoids; while Stephen Moore’s grip is on shoulderblades. The Wallabies are all at different heights.”
Diggercane says: “Quite impressed with Kepu’s strength here, he was on a hiding to nothing but mostly managed to keep his balance, despite the lack of support from both his lock and flanker. Note his bind on the arm affording some leverage to try and keep his opposite from driving up and through.
In the second engagement, the Beast and his pod are still doing the job, in this case, driving back Kepu’s pod after conceding some space after the set. Very smart and powerful by the Springboks.
Harry Jones says: “Marcell Coetzee is really working on the flank to shore up Beast.”
Diggercane says: “Incredibly powerful from the Boks to keep their shape and drive through despite the angle. It appeared Kepu had lost confidence in his support, in only the second scrum.”
Third is a defensive scrum on the Wallabies’ 10 metre, which the Aussies are lucky to survive.
The fourth is a quick start by the Springboks to get their backs into space, as is the fifth engagement by the Wallabies in the Springboks’ half.
Harry Jones says: “On scrum three, the Bok locks are taking big deliberate forward steps; that’s scary. On scrum five Burger didn’t actually ever bind.”
Diggercane says: “Interesting to note the difference between the third and fourth scrums on opposite feeds. On the Wallaby feed, once the eight disengages, the loosehead side of the Wallaby scrum capitulates under the pressure that they are turned around facing backwards. On the Springbok feed they are able to withstand the pressure with seven, while their eight adjusts to protect the ball at the back.”
The sixth scrum is where the Springboks bring on the heat, leading 3-0. After hammering Kepu and Skelton’s pod again, the South Africans got a well earnt three-pointer.
Diggercane says: “Again, another great shove. Skelton’s position is awful, you can see Rob Simmons bind on Skelton up in the air, he might as well have been holding air.”
There are no scrums for another 20 minutes, where both teams scored a converted try each. Although under pressure, the next scrum was a quickly cycled Wallaby feed in their own half. Maybe they inspired the Cherry Blossoms here?
Diggercane says: “Scott Higgenbotham ends up on his knees trying to clear that quickly, almost expecting to be run over in the process.”
We then go into the last two engagements involving Skelton.
The first happened after David Pocock charged down a Bismarck du Plessis pilfer in the Springboks’ redzone. At this point the Springbok front row is replaced, and their flankers disengage from the scrum to get to the Wallaby backs. It works. The Wallaby attack is stopped.
Diggercane says: “Some nice subtleties in the scrum defence here from the Boks on the tighthead side. Jannie du Plessis’ bind slips to around the arm and he angles in with his lock pushing down. This, in turn, helps push up and angles the Wallaby scrum out, in an effort to eliminate attacking on the short side, but also stop pushing through so Burger can see which direction to go.
“The Wallabies do however manage to attack, but Pocock at the back is forced to pass from the base and further around his players, allowing the defence ample time in cover.”
The last one of this series, is how the Springboks escaped from the redzone. By using a new front row, along with Lood de Jager, they easily pushed through the Wallaby tighthead pod, now fronted by the Wallaby scrum finisher Greg Holmes. The score is 20-7.
Diggercane says: “Key was the Boks scrum continuing to stay bound and pushing through.”
That’s all folks!
Your observations are appreciated, questions even more so – no question is too silly. And anyone can answer!
Stay tuned for ‘Cheika Scrum AD: After Du Plessis’.
Please request any other engagements you want to be ‘Scrumma-mogramed’. We need ideas!
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.