1
England explain how they have turned around their wobbling scrum
England scrum coach Tom Harrison has expressed his delight that there has been positive progress at the set-piece two games into the Rugby World Cup compared to the platform head coach Steve Borthwick inherited from Eddie Jones.
ADVERTISEMENT
The English were described as one of the worst scrums around when Jones was sacked last December and while progress was slow over the course of the Guinness Six Nations, the summer appointment of Harrison as an assistant coach has provided the platform for them to accelerate their improvement.
After confirming on Tuesday that the squad currently has a fully clean bill of health heading into next Saturday’s match versus Chile in Lille, including Freddie Steward who has overcome the dead leg that saw him limp off near the end of last Sunday’s 34-12 win over Japan in Nice, Harrison told a media briefing in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage about the change that has been afoot at the scrum.
“The scrum is in a good place,” he began, warming to his specialist subject. “There is still room for improvement. We have had 33 scrums so far in the tournament, the most of any team. We have conceded one penalty so in that sense it has been really clean.
“The step forward for us is how we build more pressure with our scrum, especially when we have got teams under the pump. How do we actually get a reward out of it?”
The improvement has been a meeting of minds, with Harrison explaining that is always picking the brains of the players. “100 per cent. Steve does the lineout guys, Richard (Hill) does the back row and I’m working with the front row and I make sure I’m picking their brains. The product we put out is a shared product amongst the staff and the players.”
If just one penalty has been conceded by the England scrum, how many have been won so far in the matches against Argentina and Japan in recent weeks? “We have won four on our own ball, four or five. You will see a trend having spoken to the officials, the ball is coming out.
ADVERTISEMENT
“In terms of teams that are wanting to scrummage for penalties, it’s becoming difficult in the way the current trend of referees. If the ball is playable the ball is playable so we’re hearing that if the ball is playable at the back of the scrum and the offence is not clear and obvious, then the ball will be asked to be used rather than potentially a penalty given… we are working with that to make sure we are technically clean so that dominance can be rewarded.”
So explain why England were getting it so wrong in the recent past at the set-piece? “The scrums that go crouch, bind, set and bang and you hit it, flash, bang and it hits the floor, if that happens then you are inviting the referee to come in and go, ‘We’ll guess’.
“So you look back and you go okay, pre-Steve coming in, the penalties that were won or lost for England were before the ball came in, so you were putting the complete outcome of the scrum into the referee’s hands or the AR’s hands.
“What we have worked for is get to the contest and then go forward in the contest and what I mean by contest is make sure the ball comes in and then we can have a contest, then we can be judged on our performance rather than just having a 50/50. So we have worked really hard on being balanced and controlled in our set-up to allow us to have a good engagement and then go to work to in a contest.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We have to train different scenarios to make sure we are balanced in what we do so we can remove, and I use this in a respectful manner, the referee being forced to potentially not make a decision that is 100 per cent because he is only refereeing what he sees. So it is making sure that we are technically clean so that we can win penalties.”
Whereas Argentina and Japan were both teams that England had faced as recently as last November’s Autumn Nations Series before France 2023, minnows Chile are a step into the unknown. “There is a fair amount, the USA games,” explained Harrison about the footage available on the South Americans.
Owen Farrell is available for England selection on Saturday versus Chile in Lille and he had No10 rival George Ford in his same winning foot/head tennis team at Tuesday training, from Liam Heagney in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage ? #ENGvCHI #RWC2023 #EnglandRugby pic.twitter.com/HPYz0Xoe1V
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 19, 2023
“They played an Argentina XV in a warm-up twice, they also played Namibia. We have full respect and we have done a full deep dive into them to gain an understanding of how to best prepare the team, best prepare the scrum this weekend.
“It’s exciting for us to experience a new challenge. They are new to the World Cup obviously; they have been brilliant in the matches they have played. You have seen that a lot with the tier two, how well they have started matches, how they have competed has been impressive.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Ned me old shinwah, it’s probably not a bad idea to learn how to spell the last names of great All Blacks wingers. (Otherwise we will demean our memories of Grant Bitty, Jonah Lima, Joe Rococo and Doug Howler.)
1 Go to commentsNo longer able to except the excuses offered up for Rob. The red jersey has lost it’s mana and become a joke. I do not wish Mr Penny any wrong but it is time to go. Do the right thing Rob and retire, PLEASE.
31 Go to commentsIt is a travesty that 8/12 teams play in the finals, and that 4 wins out of 14 might be enough to get you there, but every competition has this to some degree. If it was only the top 4 going through, then this season would have been over for 6 of the teams 4 weeks ago. Super Rugby is simply a feeder competition for the All Blacks and Wallabies. There are low stakes and no consequences because so few people care who wins Super Rugby. In football, winning the Champions League is the pinnacle for any player or fan. The fate of national teams in the world cup or Euros is a complete second fiddle to The Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, Bundelsliga etc… Same with the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB. Players and fans care deeply about their team winning NBA title, but don’t care at all about USA winning gold at the Olympics. Or more locally with Rugby League, the Hierarchy is probably NRL > State of Origin > International. For some maybe State of Origin is the top. Super Rugby is low consequence and low stakes because no one cares enough about the outcome. Players ultimately want to play for the ABs, not the Hurricanes or Blues. Casual fans aren’t talking about SR selections but everyone has an opinion on Sam Cane or Ian Foster. Super Rugby is a means to an end. The only context it has is how it effects who is selected for the ABs.
6 Go to commentsPlayoffs featuring 4 or 6 teams would mean the other teams playing meaningless games for longer and a further drop of interest in Australia. But yes a 12 team competition with 8 teams making finals is ridiculous.
6 Go to commentsJoe's picks will be more interesting than Razors. The dumping of Dave Rennie for Jones has to be one of the worst exec decisions of all time. Joe and Dave have similar styles and personalities, the players should like that. Predicting some success for Aus this year. Well more than last year!
2 Go to commentsHey Ben, Thanks for your opinion article. As a die hard rugby tragic and loyal supporter of the game can I say your article seems a touch negative so I would like to offer a slightly different spin on it. I am assuming that the sole purpose of the Super Rugby competition is not just to be a training camp for the International teams but an independent event and competition in its own right with sponsors, media companies and teams that need a financial return. Now, from this rugby fans perspective, I am enjoying the last few weeks of the competition and enjoying the fact that most teams can still make the play offs and nobody wants the wooden spoon. Most rugby followers would agree to it being a travesty if the Crusaders or the Waratahs now made it to the final but history tells us it is very unlikely with the importance of home ground advantage. Playing each team once and a four team final would give the competition integrity and a level playing field for all teams but I would be surprised if it could satisfy the financial demands of the TV rights. Maybe a six team finals series might be a possible compromise.
6 Go to commentsAll good choices John, even the Tah players ha ha. Others that might be worth a look would be ; Cale, Tom Lynagh, Uru, Keunzle, Anstee and maybe Rory Scott because we need a backup to McReight and he has improved a lot from last year and Tim Ryan.
2 Go to commentsWe only have 12 teams - and probably should only have 10. If we cut it down to 10, had a single round robin format, and only had semi-finals and a grand final, the final game would be on the first weekend of May. Meanwhile the AFL (similar to the NRL) runs until the last weekend of September and starts almost a full month after Super Rugby. At least the players would get plenty of rest!
6 Go to commentsAs article says re Japanese Final. Todd Blackadder up against his old mentor/ coach at Canterbury and the Crusaders , Robbie Deans. Both legends in this part of the world. Richie Mo’unga, ( another legend), playing brilliantly for Toddy’s team.Great to hear.
1 Go to commentsNo doubt Razor will want to kick the 2024 campaign off with a decisive selection of the top match fit players to insure his selection as the appointed coach has maximum impact. We the supporters and critics will settle for nothing less because historically it is what we have become ingrained and accustomed to. With that in mind and the distinct fall from grace of his beloved crusaders we will expect him to stamp his mark in the same way he left his old post.
9 Go to commentsI would've expected a better turn around in response to the changes within the team and its management. Lacking in my opinion is the skill sets that once was and now seemingly vacant within the squads regular front runners. Furthermore there seems to be no set game plan, the accuracy that once was is no more, the quality off the bench were poor matchups and frankly I feel a lot has to do with the coaching. Never thought i’d be critising the sadas to this degree.
5 Go to commentsAverage AB captain by recent standards. Speaks to the wider issue
9 Go to commentsWholesome lad, but no longer test level. At all
9 Go to commentsThis game was always going to be close, Canada have such a dominant pack and the Black Ferns have come unstuck in that area against teams like France and England in the past.
2 Go to commentsA distinct discomfort with the officiating they were probably selected from the local IRA narcos branch along with the commentators bloody fly tippers.
1 Go to commentsWow, never thought I would read that
2 Go to commentsExcellent match. Great to see Keenan and Ryan back for Leinster. Super result for Ulster. Season is turning around.
1 Go to comments“We need eight or nine new players, who are hard-wearing and durable and experienced Premiership performers”. So why are they scouting a retired fullback who himself admits that his “body is broken”?
1 Go to commentsBrumbies hand, knocked a Crusaders hand. Therefore, knock on in goal. Crusaders, goal line drop out should’ve been awarded. most likely after that 24 each at full time, so extra time would’ve been the right an entertaining outcome. Act Jim
1 Go to commentsSpeell cehck
1 Go to comments