Bok scrum to hold Wallabies up

 

After two tough outings against the Pumas at the start of the Rugby Championship, the Bok scrum made some good progress in Australasia, and will be hoping to carry that momentum into their clash with Australia at Newlands.

 

Mtawarira said the key to their turnaround had been a return to basics and what worked well for them last year when they were consistently solid at scrum-time.

 

"We just kept working at the basics, scrumming is a big part of the Springbok culture so we just went back to the drawing board and did the things we did very well last year and kept on working hard at it.

 

"It was just a matter of time for things to turn around, but despite that we don't want to rest on our laurels and we need to keep working hard in every game," he told rugby365 in an interview.

 

The Wallabies managed to frustrate the Pumas scrum in their last outing on the Gold Coast, with plenty of resets earning them more than a few penalties, and Mtawarira admitted that the focus for the Bok front row will be to keep the scrum up at Newlands to avoid 50/50 calls.

 

"I think there were obviously a lot of resets in that game [Australia v Argentina], for us we don't like resets, we like keeping the scrum up but it all depends on the referee.

 

"It always becomes a 50/50 thing if it goes down so the most important thing is trying to keep the scrum up," he said.

 

Mtawarira will be up against Wallabies tighthead Sekope Kepu who has found some encouraging form after a good Super Rugby campaign with the Waratahs.

 

"Obviously I have scrummed against him a lot of times in Super Rugby as well. He has improved and he is playing well so I look forward to the challenge," he said.

 

Whilst the Boks would have been disappointed with the way their game against the All Blacks in Wellington ended, one major positive was the final scrum which gave them on last shot at the win.

 

Replacement props Marcel van der Merwe and Trevor Nyakane managed to get the All Blacks scrum going backwards towards their tryline, and Mtawarira admitted that having players come off the bench and make that kind of impact boosts the confidence of the whole squad.

 

"It is great to see a guy like Marcel come in and do well, and Trevor as well. It really helps to have guys who can come on and back you up," he said.

 

There is a lot of cynicism surrounding the Wallabies scrum, with the high amount of resets they are generally involved in seen as a indication that they seek to manipulate matters technically. 

 

The Boks are considered to have an advantage in terms of power up front, and it is clear they want to make that count by keeping the scrum up in order to build on the progress they have made in their last two games.