TRI-NATIONS

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Wallaby beef primed for Durban

Wednesday 20th August 2008

Ready to rumble: Al Baxter, Stephen Moore and Benn Robinson

After years of being the laughing stock of scrumming circles world wide, the Wallaby front row has come on in leaps and bounds this year, thanks largely to the appointment of a specialist coach, according to prop Al Baxter.

Last year's dismal performance at the World Cup is fast becoming forgotten as solid performances in this year's Tri-Nations is quickly transforming Australia's reputation for being push-overs into big pushers.

Earlier this year Azzuri coach Nick Mallet claimed Italy had a bunch of props that would talk into any Wallaby team. Mallet might not have been singing the same tune after last month's opening Bledisloe Cup clash in Sydney when the Aussie front row of Al Baxter, Stephen Moore and Benn Robinson stood up to the All Blacks and laid the platform for their side's 34-19 win.

In that game Australia's most-capped prop of all time, Baxter, still had steam left in his 30-year-old legs to get around the park, make some big tackles and put the Wallabies on the front foot.

Ahead of Saturday's clash with the Springboks in Durban, Baxter believes the Wallaby scrum has been sufficiently modified to trouble their hosts.

"The big difference is that we now have a specialist, full-time scrum coach in Michael Foley, who has been working with us for the past 18 months," Baxter told the Cape Argus.

"All the hard work we've put in is coming to fruition, we're getting results and things are going better than expected."

Comparing the top front-rankers of the world right now, Baxter said that from a "...strength perspective there is probably not a massive difference as we all do the same weights and stuff."

"But I think that previously, for the Wallabies, our technique was found wanting. The physio doubled up as a scrum coach and even though he was an ex-prop, he had to split his time between medical duties and coaching.

"Michael, who also focuses attention on the line-outs, devotes at least 50 percent of his time to scrummaging.

"These props are going really well," said Wallaby coach Robbie Deans.

"That's where experience comes back in. They've served their apprenticeship and they're physically able. That was evident in the game (against the All Blacks), where we really scrummed well."

Arguably the only positive South Africa could draw from their 19-0 thrashing by New Zealand at Newlands last Saturday was their impressive scrummaging performance, making this weekend's battle on the front lines even more tantalising.

"I thought the Boks scrummed very, very well," said Baxter.

"They were exceptional and put the All Blacks under pressure throughout. They got their backs into them in the first scrum and almost forced a turnover."