Article by By Andrew Smyth-Kirk, the headline is mine
I think it’s time the Wallabies rethought the front row configuration. Saturday night’s first Rugby Championship Test match in Brisbane showed the ascendancy of the Brumbies’ Scott Sio as the rightful owner of the Wallabies’ loosehead prop position.
Sio’s ball running also injected extra punch in the midfield, as did veteran Greg Holmes. The energetic running from Sio and Holmes set the platform for the eventual escape victory.
The pleasure I felt when Stephen Moore called for the second scrum on the South African five-metre line was immense. A feeling that I have to admit I have not felt in relation to an Australian scrum for a number of years.
It was joyful to finally see an Australian scrum to be proud of. Let’s not get to excited, the scrums I speak of came late in the game with the Wallabies threatening the Springbok line on numerous occasions and with a high level of possession. Those scrums were powerful examples of what an Australian scrum should be, even if the starting Springbok front row was off the field.
It was a good, albeit small sign of the possibility of the group. We all know how much we will need it coming into the World Cup against England and the other strong northern hemisphere packs.
This small glimpse of possibility now needs to be tested for real. We need to see that combination start against Argentina, who are renowned for their scrum strength and technique. If that test is passed then on with the All Blacks. Sekope Kepu didn’t have a bad game but the inclusion of Sio was instantaneously effective.
The Wallaby scrum was found a bit wanting earlier in the game against the experienced Springbok front row, displaying what seemed to be rudimentary mistakes. A few times the second row bind loosened and the integrity of the scrum was compromised.
Will Skelton with his massive size and strength should not have let this happen. Most of the time it was not a problem but maybe the intensity of the first Test of the year got to him at those moments in the game.
The inclusion of James Horwill later in the second half also pulled the scrum together. Horwill has put his head in many a scrum, and it was evident with the tight five when he came on. His ball running also added aggression, running hard with strong carries a far cry from the majority of his Super Rugby season.
Michael Cheika has an interesting selection issue next week in Argentina. I would think this week will see an intensified scrum session plan for the team coming into the challenging Argentina pack. The hard yards need to be packed down for what will be a great test for the forwards going into the World Cup.
Overall the forwards should be relatively happy with their efforts. However, on a number of occasions second and third phase ball was lost due to lazy or ineffective clean outs. Another relatively rudimentary part of the game that will need to be solidified if the Wallabies believe they are any chance of beating the All Blacks.
Let’s get it straight, any victory will have to be a whole team effort but the forwards will love to see a kick fired down from the backs land in some space or go out. I lost count of the number of kicks that missed their mark.
It’s tough trudging about the field for some of those bigger blokes, particularly when you see territory destroyed by poor kicking.
