Scrum Talk

[Highlander35]

Of Course, Grenoble is like the Brumbies European outfit

 

[qwerty51]

No, he was initially but let go in 2010 after our scrum was abused by the English pack*.

In 2008-2009 though, he made huge progress. That was the early Benn Robinson-smashing-England, our scrum destroying everyone bar NZ in 2009. The games against the Boks that we picked up their front row and drove it back over the 2nd row, smashed the Welsh in a big way etc.


*The 2010 season was the Slipper-Fainga'a-Ma'afood, but Slipper and Fainga'a were all total rookies.

He was the scrum coach from July 2009 to July 2012. Blades took over in 2012 but Noriega stayed on as a consultant during the Scotland match and the Welsh series.

 

[Quick Hands]

Pyle is a Stade Francais man.

My mistake, I watched Stade Francais play Grenoble the other night and got my teams mixed up.

 

[Quick Hands]

Of Course, Grenoble is like the Brumbies European outfit

Great location if you like skiing.

 

[TOCC]

 

[Quick Hands]

Don't let anyone from any other football code get their hands on that bit of tape. Great scrummaging from City, but scrum penalties, scrum collapses and resets aren't the best advertisement for the game.

 

[TOCC]

I actually thought it was a highly entertaining game and you can hear the roar of approval from the Ballymore crowd

 

[Quick Hands]

I actually thought it was a highly entertaining game and you can hear the roar of approval from the Ballymore crowd

I remember the game being a good one. It's just that 8 minutes of scrum penalties and resets and associated whistle blowing does nothing positive for me.

In general terms, no other aspect of the game is refereed so selectively and haphazardly as the scrum. A lineout throw deviates one degree and it's pulled up, but scrums routinely have feeds at anything up to 45 degrees. In no other aspect of the game are teams allowed to play for a penalty, but they are in scrums. It never used to be like that, the purpose of the scrum used to be to resart play (which is how the laws describe it), so a team put the ball in, there was a striking contest and/or a pushing contest and the ball came out. Now we have no striking contest, the ball is fed straight to the half's team, it's quite often held at the back so that they can contrive a penalty from a second shove - the purpose of which shove is to do nothing other than to obtain a penalty. Even non-contrived scrum penalties are a bizarre referee lottery - I reckon about 1/3 of the time the refs get it right, 1/3 of the time completely wrong and the other 1/3 is the toss of a coin.

And I'm a rugby fan - what would the rest of the sporting world thing of it all. Rant over. (It's not directed at you - those 8 minutes encapsulated what I think are wrong with scrums, and it's worse in the NH)

 

[HighPlainsDrifter]

Will Skelton would be appreciated in Grenoble , well it is the birthplace of the late and great "Andre the Giant"

 

[Tip]

I have the feeling Will Skelton could do with an off season consisting of Pilates and Yoga. The flexibility just isn't there from his lower back to his calves.

 

[TSR]

Don't let anyone from any other football code get their hands on that bit of tape. Great scrummaging from City, but scrum penalties, scrum collapses and resets aren't the best advertisement for the game.

Maybe so. But some of us consider clips like this to be rugby porn.

 

[Marcelo]

Sorry I made a mistake

 

[Braveheart81]

If I was the ARU I wouldn't change anything in advance of the RWC.

It's a big change to be able to name Ma'afu as your reserve THP ahead of Alexander or Faulkner.

Cheika is obviously a fan of Douglas and he'd probably name him ahead of Skelton or Horwill but it's hardly a fait accompli that Douglas will go better than the existing Wallaby locks. 2014 was his best Super Rugby season. What's to say he'd replicate that form in the test arena in 2015 (he certainly didn't excell in his previous tests)?

It's not like any of these options are obvious starting XV players. I wouldn't be making what is a very substantial change for something that is by no means a clear cut decision.

Now if Simmons and Carter or Kepu and Alexander were both out injured for the RWC I'd certainly consider it as exceptional circumstances and think strongly about changing the policy at that time.

 

[kiap]

Douglas in and out of the Leinster side (but hopefully learning a few things and working hard).

The bloke was never a superstar but the fact that our second row cupboard is so bare means he's still being missed.

​

Leinster head coach O’Connor . . . underlining that the lock has had to adapt his approach to the increased set-piece demands in European rugby.​

​

“I definitely felt that when I first got here,” says Douglas himself. “You spend a bit more time in the scrums and lineouts, that stuff. I was sort of chatting to Matt after games and saying ‘I’m feeling pretty stuffed.’​

​

. . . “I was probably just as fit as I was [at the 'Tahs], but you probably need to be even fitter, especially forwards, because you’re using a fair bit of energy up at the set-pieces.​

​

It’s hard trying to get into the game outside of that, but I think I’ve been getting better and trying to improve that stuff away from the set-piece. Trying to make some tackles and trying to get some carries in.”​

​

“Everyone wants to start, but those boys have been going really well. Dev’s been killing it and Mike’s been putting on some good hits and good carries. I’ve got to keep doing my best. I want to start, but it’s all about who’s gone best the week before and keeping their places.”​

​

Douglas was benched behind that duo for last weekend’s win over Ulster at the RDS, but may return to the starting XV for Saturday’s clash against the Cardiff Blues in Wales . . .​

​

http://www.thescore.ie/kane-douglas-leinster-interview-1866002-Jan2015/​

 

[Braveheart81]

The person Cheika is reportedly bringing in to help with the scrum is former Pumas hooker, Mario Ledesma.

http://www.espnscrum.com/australia/rugby/story/252535.html

 

[Strewthcobber]

Ledesma was appointed forwards coach at Stade Français for the 2011-2012 Top 14 campaign before joining Montpellier, where he held the same position until resigning in November 2014.

Anyone familiar with how the Montpellier forwards have gone over the last couple of years?

 

[Tip]

Now if Simmons and Carter or Kepu and Alexander were both out injured for the RWC I'd certainly consider it as exceptional circumstances and think strongly about changing the policy at that time.

Nah, if you make your bed you lie in it. No exceptions. It's exceptions upon exceptions that got Aus rugby into its current state, and which led to the demise of our last two coaches..

I'd rather see Faulkner, Sio, Holmes than Ma'afu.
I'd rather see a Power, Neville or Jones than Douglas.

Let's call a spade a spade. Ma'afu and Douglas can both be put into the "quite rightly shite" bin along with Pyle and Timani. I'd like to say these four brought nothing to the Wallabies but unfortunately, they brought softness in spades... You can't argue that Ma'afu, Douglas and Timani all played 20 kilos lighter when they pulled on the Green and Gold.

It's a sad state of affairs the Wallabies find themselves in when we're postulating which club standard bench player should start in the National teams second row. (Douglas and Skelton)

 

[Quick Hands]

Anyone familiar with how the Montpellier forwards have gone over the last couple of years?

Montpellier were top 4 last season and had a good solid scrum. They've fallen in a heap this year and are in total disaray. Jake White recently took over (in the past couple of weeks).

 

[swingpass]

e

can both be put into the "quite rightly shite" bin along with Pyle and Timani. I'd like to say these four brought nothing to the Wallabies but unfortunately, they brought softness in spades.

except that Pyle never played for the Wallabies

 

[Braveheart81]

Nah, if you make your bed you lie in it. No exceptions. It's exceptions upon exceptions that got Aus rugby into its current state, and which led to the demise of our last two coaches..

I'd rather see Faulkner, Sio, Holmes than Ma'afu.
I'd rather see a Power, Neville or Jones than Douglas.

Let's call a spade a spade. Ma'afu and Douglas can both be put into the "quite rightly shite" bin along with Pyle and Timani. I'd like to say these four brought nothing to the Wallabies but unfortunately, they brought softness in spades. You can't argue that Ma'afu, Douglas, Pyle and Timani all played 20 kilos lighter when they pulled on the Green and Gold.

It's a sad state of affairs the Wallabies find themselves in when we're postulating which club standard bench player should start in the National teams second row. (Douglas and Skelton)

Pyle never played for the Wallabies.

Power has gone to France.

There's no doubt Douglas and Ma'afu were average for the Wallabies. It was several years ago for Ma'afu though and Douglas had never played a season of Super Rugby as good as 2014. No one knows how they would go in 2015.

Timani was average around the field but our scrum was stronger when he played lock for the Wallabies.

I probably wouldn't change the rules to be able to pick some of these players but I was merely suggesting that the point where exceptional circumstances might arise is not where the players overseas are a dubious case to be on the bench but are obviously first choice players because of an injury crisis.

Reserve tight head prop and lock in general are the weakest positions in the Wallabies. It's not really a coincidence that our scrum is also our Achilles heel.