Springbok coach Jake White said on Monday his side would target the Australian scrum in this week’s Tri-Nations clash, after the Wallabies’ front five was humbled by the mighty All Blacks.
New Zealand pummelled the Australian scrum in Christchurch, helping the Kiwis secure a crushing 32-12 victory against the visitors on Saturday.
White noted that former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones had identified problems with the Australian scrum two years ago.
”Everyone who understands rugby says the game’s won and lost in the tight five,” White told reporters in Brisbane, where the Springboks face the Wallabies at the Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.
”Didn’t Eddie ask two years ago to sort it out? It shows the importance of planning ahead.
”Eddie said they needed to look at the front-row crisis and you could see it coming.
”I am surprised because he did say a couple of years ago that they need to look at getting front-rankers back into rugby.”
Using a dominant front five as their platform, the All Blacks knocked the confidence out of Australia on Saturday and took the gloss off the Wallabies’ first three wins of the year.
The Kiwi forwards constantly drove the Wallabies back, dominated the loose play and even fared well in the line-out, despite Australia’s much-vaunted superiority in the air.
Despite the likely return of 130kg prop Rodney Blake, the Wallabies can expect another battering up front on Saturday.
Asked if the Springboks will be targeting the Wallabies’ scrum, White said: ”As much as we can.”
He conceded, however, that the Springboks would not field as powerful a front row as Kiwis Carl Hayman, Keven Mealamu and Tony Woodcock, who tossed the Australian front three around like rag dolls.
”That is a very, very strong front row,” he said. ”Obviously we’d like to replicate that but let’s be quite honest, we don’t probably have the same manpower as they do up front.”
Despite the loss of powerful lock Bakkies Botha, White said the Springboks would still field a strong pack with Danie Rossouw to join Bulls teammates Victor Matfield in the second row. — Sapa-AFP