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Why the Lions bent the ear of scrum expert Mike Cron this week

By Liam Heagney
(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Lions forward coach Robin McBryde has admitted he spent more than half an hour talking scrums this week to Mike Cron, the World Rugby set-piece consultant who coached the All Blacks in 210 Test matches before stepping away from that work with the Kiwis in 2019. The scrum was viewed as a huge area of the game for Warren Gatland’s tourists following the demolition job which the Springboks carried out on England in the World Cup final.  

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It started dubiously for all concerned in last weekend’s first Test, referee Nic Berry getting forced to allow numerous scrum resets as the softness of the Cape Town pitch resulted in players slipping rather than being able to scrum properly in the early exchanges, but that issue settled down the longer the game went on and the Lions enjoyed some good second-half moments in that area. 

Despite this encouraging effort, McBryde still took time out this week to chew the set-piece fat with Cron in the hope that the feedback received could help the Lions improve in time for this Saturday’s second Test rematch where the expectation is that the Springboks will try their damndest to get the series-levelling win. 

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Jason Robinson’s history as a Lions player

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Jason Robinson’s history as a Lions player

“I had a conversation with Mike Cron on Tuesday morning just surrounding the scrum,” said Lions assistant McBryde. “Mike Cron is used as a consultant for World Rugby and is a great sounding board. Everybody in World Rugby knows Mike from a scrummaging point of view. 

“I was on the call with Mike for well over half an hour in order to gain his views on a couple of things that I was keen to find out on. I can only speak from my own experience this week. Joel (Jutge, referees boss) has been in touch with Warren with regard to some clips that he wanted clarity on as well, so the process hasn’t been any different to what I have experienced in the past internationally. 

“It was the same during the 2019 World Cup. I can only say I’m really happy with the way the week has gone and we weren’t surprised by anything that happened on Saturday with Nic Berry and we had a good conversation with the referees on Thursday. We’re genuinely happy with the way the process has gone this week.”

Scrum penalties were awarded last Saturday against Springboks duo Bongi Mbonambi and Frans Malherbe, as well as Lions loosehead Rory Sutherland, and while the initial main scrum talking point was how the turf struggled to hold firm, McBryde insisted the surface shouldn’t be a factor in this weekend’s second Test and added it wasn’t much of talking point when the Lions met referee Ben O’Keeffe and his team of officials on Thursday.  

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“We were disappointed with the first couple of exchanges we had in the scrum but everybody got to grips with that surface, especially the second half. It was pretty soft, softer in certain areas of the field, so it was just constant messages with regard to keeping our feet under us a bit more, making sure we get good purchase with studs in the ground. 

“We saw a couple of instances where after the hit our feet just slipped back. The referee made the right decisions. Sometimes it was just ‘listen, boys, it’s a slip, let’s go again’. They are aware that the surface isn’t great. However, it is possible to scrummage on it as we saw in the second half in particular where you saw a good competition at scrum time. 

“It will be the same this week. Both packs are more than aware of that but I don’t think it’s an excuse for numerous collapses. You may get one or two as you always do. Following that it will be a good spectacle. It [the pitch] wasn’t made a big thing of it really (at the referees meeting).

“It has been a dry week here and it’s going to be dry from here on into the game so hopefully that will help it… I don’t think it’s going to be a big thing in the game.”

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Trevor 1 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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