scrum blog
ESPNscrum Home ESPNscrum Home
Fan Zone
Rumour Mill
Latest News

RSS feed
Paper Round

All the latest from the world of rugby

FeedbackFeedback

« North lagging behind | | Humble pie »

November 29, 2010

Posted on 11/29/2010

Scrum spin won't paper cracks

Greg Growden hails Australia's attacking box of tricks but draws focus back to their scrum after a massive win over France in The Sydney Morning Herald.

"It's pretty simple, really. If your scrum resembles melting jelly, not even Mandrake the Magician at five-eighth can save you. But if your scrum maintains its shape, anything is possible.

"The Wallabies' record Test victory over France was the perfect example of that. Has there even been such a dramatic contrast between the first and second halves of a rugby match? In the first half, the Wallabies scrum was castigated by New Zealand referee Bryce Lawrence over and over again, and suffered the indignity of a penalty try in the 30th minute.

"The three minutes before that was one of the most humiliating an Australian scrum has experienced in recent times. Unlike the England Test in Perth, when a rookie Wallabies pack of Ben Daley, Saia Faingaa and Salesi Ma'afu was pulverised, the seasoned front row that encountered France - Ben Alexander, Stephen Moore and James Slipper - was supposedly Australia's best."

FeedbackFeedback

Recent Posts
Categories
Archives
© ESPN EMEA Ltd
espn