As opposed to rival codes rugby union is a very complex psychological and physical endeavour whose subtleties and interpretations are lost on most viewers. It is only a very few dedicated aficionados that comprehend let alone can begin to explain these various intricacies. Despite these obstacles and with some guidance from my mentor and friend, Tom Lawton, I will attempt to unravel some issues within Australian rugby.

Even the casual observer would agree that the Wallabies have some problems when it comes to scrum time. My personal tally from Bledisloe 1 was twelve completed scrums (see Bledisloe 1 article) which New Zealand won four to Australia’s three with the ABs awarded three penalties & a free kick to the Wallabies one free kick. Taking the referee out of the equation it does not look very promising for Coach Robbie Dean’s men only two years out from a world cup. Many pundits agree that in the 15-man game having a solid scrum is both psychologically and physically the cornerstone of a successful team.

In Australia the “pretty boy” backs are given too much ink in most post match reports- with the obvious exception being loose forwards. We all love our Campeses, Giteaus, Ella brothers, Chris Lathems etcetera but really it is in the engine room where the real action occurs. Men like the Lawton brothers, Topo Rodriguez, Ben Darwin even Dan Crowley that all played in the front row for the Wallabies could only even begin to unearth the myths and mystics surrounding the enigma known as the rugby scrum.

This will be the start of series of articles that will try to explain the Wallabies dilemma in the scrum department and I do encourage your feedback. I do envisage an extended interview with Tom Lawton and hopefully others on this very topic in the coming months.
Yours in rugby