England out-scrummed Australia and England won the game. The two may or may not be related, but Australia are probably the worst scrummaging side of any of the Tier 1 nations.
They have been for a long time. They know it and everyone else knows it – including the refs.
Not so long ago, in the Crouch-Touch-Engage days, Australia would cheat by offsetting their ‘hit’ sideways to the left.
That disguised their inadequacies in the pushing contest. It gave them an element of surprise. It gave them back the edge that their lack of power had removed.
Before that, Australia liked to get the ball in and out as early as possible. Collapsing the front row for a reset was a popular option.
Repeat ad infinitum until a penalty is given. No ground lost. And if you think referees are pointing their penalties in a random direction these days, then look at some old footage. The guys nowadays have been briefed and re-briefed, the refs then didn’t have a clue.
There wasn’t as much in-built structural stability in the scrum then as there is now either, what with all that safety-first pre-binding and lining-up.
And just the other day, Keith Wood, the erstwhile Irish hooking and drop-goal legend was saying that for as long as he could remember, Australia were trying to get the IRB to de-power the scrum.
Presumably this was to cover scrummaging inadequacies.
Anyway, it’s not as simple as you might think, sitting on the sofa with a tinnie and a packet of crisps. These fat-lads are the pinnacle of their athletic profession.
They’ve trained for years. They lift big weights. They do strict diets. If you feel bad about them losing a scrum against the head or sliding backwards, then think how they feel about it.
At least their humiliation isn’t on free-to-air television.
Even the best scrummagers in the world need time and practice to get it right.
Heres the Lions versus South Africa, first Test, 1997 going in at the wrong height and looking like a cat on rollerskates.
And even the most highly-drilled scrum unit can’t just repeat their performance again and again.
Now regardless of what nonsense you might read elsewhere, it’s all about the tight five.
Here’s the Harlequins using the old Crouch-Touch-Engage rules, going through their paces. Now regardless of what nonsense you might read elsewhere, when it comes to power, it’s all about the tight five.
Five minutes watching this and you can see what a minefield scrummaging is: feet position, binds, hips, weight and so on.
Not surprising they get it wrong from time to time.
I don’t care who you are, you’re going to struggle against that England pack. They’re big, strong and superbly drilled. And that’s their ‘B’ Team.
I don’t care how far you look to get personnel, how hard you train or how many “scrum-workshops” you attend. Whoever is in the eight at the World Cup will be up against it when they play England.
Apart from anything else, there’s no one like England you can practice against in Australian rugby.
The Stats support the forwards
The numbers look better than the pictures did. ESPN has produced figures showing England won nine and lost two scrums on their own feed (81.8%). Australia won all five they fed.
Those statistics sound find, but I know what I saw – and a perfect record it wasn’t.
But the stats go even further. According to these, Australia out-performed England at the lineout, the ruck and also the maul.
| Lineouts on own throw | England | 12 won, 2 lost (85.7%) |
| Australia | 8 won, 1 lost (88.9%) | |
| Rucks won | England | 33 from 36 (91.7%) |
| Australia | 110 from 112 (98.2%) | |
| Mauls won | England | 6 from 7 (85.7%) |
| Australia | 2 from 2 (100.0%) |
And what about the backs, Australia’s trump card?
| England | Australia | |
| Passes | 71 | 222 |
| Runs | 50 | 153 |
| Metres run with ball | 203 | 595 |
| Possession (1H/2H) | 34% (39%/27%) | 66% (61%/73%) |
| Territory (1H/2H) | 30% (34%/25%) | 70% (66%/75%) |
| Clean breaks | 2 | 8 |
| Defenders beaten | 8 | 25 |
| Offloads | 3 | 15 |
Usually, it’s presumed axiomatic that the forwards generate the platform for the backs to win the game. Thats an over-simplification, but it’s right a lot of the time.
So, from those figures, it would appear that the forwards won plenty ball for the backs, but the backs just couldn’t convert that possession and territory into points. The numbers don’t lie.
All-in-all though, the game the stats boys were watching looks a whole lot better than the one I saw.
So, what to make of it?
It’s perception. Australia might be rubbish at scrums. Or not, but isn’t the point. Australia are believed to be rubbish at scrums.
If you can bear it, read Jason Leonard’s anecdote. He says that refs like to ‘pick a victim’ – the side with a bad reputation, the side going backwards, blokes looking guilty, blokes with their faces in the mud.
In the absence of blatant cheating, the side looking stronger usually wins the penalty. It’s a macho game. The confidence, arrogance, testosterone of the forwards all come from the power and strength of the scrum.
Yeah, so you out-jumped us at the lineout – just wait until the next scrummage and we’ll humiliate you by pushing you backwards like you’re on wheels. Nothing says ‘we own you’ like a front row nudge.
That’s all that’s needed – just the nudge. If the opposition can move you a little then they can move you a lot. You know that and they know that. What’s worse is that they know you know that. You don’t want to let the referee know that. You don’t want it to happen
How do the Aussies turn it around?
It’s not going to happen overnight, but you’ve got to start somewhere. Learn to walk before you can run. Or rather, learn not to get shoved backwards before you learn how to shove forwards yourselves.
Bind properly, get your levels right, get your angles right and practice, practice, practice.
The objective is not always just to win the ball. Sometimes you want to do more than that, you want to humiliate the opposition and get inside their heads.
Australia is unlikely to suddenly develop bigger more powereful scrummagers than the rest of the world. But the only thing stopping the Wallabies getting better technically is the will to do it.
Against a powerful scrum, on their ball, they may well want to push you around, backwards or wheeled.
Going forwards is a signal to the referee of domination – a sure sign that if a penalty is to be awarded then it’ll be going with the force.
Wheeling is risky – a penalty could go either way depending on any number of factors – how easily it happened, whether it spun on an axis, how many degrees it went through and so on.
On your own ball, stay stable but get the ball out quickly. Once the ball is out, try not to fold the scrum after the ball is out either – you don’t want to send the wrong signal to the ref – but try to control the escape.
By the way, here’s some of the England’s Graham Rowntree talking scrums.
Now, he understands the problem for most people is that front row just isn’t sexy. The Wallabies could do worse than watch Rowntree’s videos on Youtube.
Use the force
Getting the hang of working a pack-going-backwards is part of a scrum-half’s education. It’s very hard to do.
It’s difficult to practice properly and a backwards-moving pack often results in a scrum-half getting dropped. Somebody has to get the blame and you can’t drop all eight forwards.
The experience is unsettling for everyone. It’s not natural for a pack to go that way. But the experience can be invaluable.
You don’t want it to happen to you again. Fingers get pointed. People get blamed. Views are frankly exchanged.
You want to try more to avoid it, train harder, practice more and longer.
Finally, start cheating
Despite the purest of intentions, rugby sometimes has a bit of cheating going on. Here’s the best of it – brilliant bit of chutzpah from 2002.
But running offside, obstructions, forward passes and so on all happen in a game. If your side does it, it’s smart; if they do it, then it’s cheating. But some players have made a career out of pushing the boundaries of the law. Do what you can and try and get away with it.
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.
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