Source :- THE AGE NEWS
The Wallabies’ 1984 unbeaten Grand Slam tour remains renowned for the brilliance of the running rugby spearheaded by playmaker Mark Ella, but it was a pushover scrum try against a ferocious Welsh pack in Cardiff that helped redefine Australian rugby’s reputation.
After defeating England and Ireland, the Wallabies arrived at a sodden Cardiff field knowing their scrum needed to not just match Wales; they needed to dominate them. Halfway through the second half, Australia’s scrum was set and the call of “samson” was made. The Wallabies pack shunted Wales over their tryline, with No.8 Steve Tuynman scoring. Cardiff Arms Park was silenced.
Nearly 42 years later, two men who were defined by that moment, commentator Gordon Bray and tighthead prop Andy McIntyre, smiled when they saw that rare sight of the pushover in the victory over Japan in Townsville last Saturday, after another Wallaby No.8 Charlie Cale scored in the 72nd minute.
Japan’s forwards are a different prospect to that grizzled Welsh pack, but the art of the eight-man shove highlights the ambition of a Wallabies scrum that today refuses to be satisfied with parity; it wants to dominate. Bray recognised that same feeling within the 1984 Wallabies.
“The Welsh scrum was something they prided themselves on and it had never been pushed backwards in a big international, so to get pushed back over their own goal line was just unheard of,” Bray said.
“It absolutely and totally broke their spirit. It was a huge moment for Australian rugby, it showed that we could stand up to the best, one of the best scrummaging teams in the world, and do it on their turf, in front of their people.
“It was the worst possible nightmare for the Welsh fans and it was a huge moment for me sitting up there in the concrete press box, seeing this incredible juggernaut of an Australian scrum.”
The ferocity of the Wallabies’ scrum that day was such that Welsh loosehead Ian Stephens had to leave the field with broken ribs. McIntyre believes the actions in Cardiff helped set the platform for taking on the formidable Argentina pack two years later.
“I remember watching Argentina and they pushed us around in 1983, although I wasn’t playing,” McIntyre said.
“Then two years after the Grand Slam, they came out and we just went really low in the scrum. It was something that we worked really hard on and prided ourselves on.”
Ahead of facing Argentina on Saturday in Jujuy, Wallabies scrum consultant Mike Cron is concentrating on a far shorter history of the pack.
The New Zealander has watched the forwards who lacked belief in 2024 turn into the ones in Argentina who can take on anyone.
Cron is 71 years old, but still spends hours analysing every Wallabies’ scrum at training and in games from his home in Canterbury, New Zealand, sending detailed notes to the team in Argentina. Cron also mentors young forwards as part of a five-year Rugby Australia tight five program.
The man known as “the scrum doctor” believes one of the turning points for the scrum was the Wallabies’ victory against South Africa last August in Johannesburg.
“It was one of the prouder days of my coaching career, you had the young guys going up against the Boks scrum and doing a hell of a good job that day,” Cron said.
The pushover try against Japan was particularly pleasing to Cron, given the two props were replacements, loosehead Aidan Ross and Wallaby No. 1000 Massimo de Lutiis. Cron knows with a World Cup looming, depth must be built across the front-row.
“They’re getting to a stage now where they’re starting to get some depth (in the front row) and when a guy gets a chance, they’re all putting their hands up,” Cron said.
“In the modern game, you can’t just play them (props) week in, week out. I always remember saying, you need four in every position at the forward pack.”
Cron continues to work closely with each member of the Wallabies pack, discussing the finer arts of the scrum. One of his favourite students is Reds prop de Lutiis, particularly as he played a role in encouraging him to stay in Australia and reject the advances from Irish rugby.
“He’s a good person and he’s bloody strong. He’s as strong as Taniela (Tupou) was at his age, he’s only 22, which is pretty young for a tighthead,” Cron said.
“He’s young and learning at Test level, but he’s going to have a hell of a career, I don’t mind telling you, I got a hold of him to encourage him to stay in the country and keep getting good coaching and keep chipping away and getting better every day and overseas (opportunities) will always be there.”
Wallabies back rower Tom Hooper believes his team’s set piece is capable of taking on any pack, including Argentina.
“It’s something we’ve been building for the last few years now, we look at the dominance of the Argentinian scrum, the dominance of the set-piece in general in the Northern Hemisphere and we want to match it with those guys,” he said.
“The only way to improve and get better is to verse the best opposition, so we’re really excited about the prospect of playing another quality outfit this weekend and go from there.”
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