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White wants to 'scrum down' with refs
Springbok coach Jake White says he will continue to complain about the scrum tactics of the Wallabies "until someone listens". It is not the first time the Bok coach has spoken about about the perceived illegal tactics of Australia's front row.
Addressing a media gathering in Pretoria on Monday, ahead of the opening Tri-Nations match between South Africa and Australia at Loftus on Saturday, White and his assistant Gert Smal expressed strong views on what they perceived to be the way the Wallabies manipulate the scrums illegally.
What upset White most is that his team conceded three free kicks to the Wallabies at scrum time during their comprehensive 33-20 win over Australia in the decisive second Nelson Mandela Challenge Plate Test at Ellis Park last Saturday.
Many observers have for some time claimed that the Wallabies use deliberate stalling tactics when their scrum is under pressure, often delaying the put-in or going down only at the very last minute, thus causing the scrums to collapse and to be reset time and again.
It is worth noting that on the occasions when the Boks were penalised at the weekend Australian scrum-half George Gregan delayed the feed - even though it was clear he could have put the ball in immediately - and then when the scrum to started moving he would appeal to referee Steve Walsh to penalise the South Africans.
It was thus not surprising on Monday when White expressed his "disappointment" at what he perceived to be referees' failure to "properly police" scrums.
"The scrums were probably not refereed and managed the way they should have been," White told the media gathering.
"If you look at Saturday's scrums, and we have looked at them repeatedly, every time we had a scrum the ball came out perfectly. When they had the put in at a scrum it collapsed and had to be reset, it collapsed again and was reset again.
"Why is it on Springbok ball there is no problem but on their ball there is a problem?" White asked.
Smal, who is the Boks' forwards coach, said it was important for South Africa's pack to stay composed at scrum time during the opening Tri-Nations Test against Australia at Loftus this coming Saturday.
"We have to address this problem through the right channels," Smal said. "It is up to the referee to read it right and penalise foul play. We hope the referee will place [George] Gregan and their pack under pressure this weekend," said Smal.
Both White and Smal felt the Australian tactics have reduced the the scrum to a method of restarting play and that it is not a contest as it should be ... according to the law.
White was also upset about the fact that the Australians' tactics had exposed his scrum-half in a manner it should not be allowed to happen.
The Bok coach suggested the Australian tactics allowed the Wallabies' flank and No.8 to put huge pressure on the Bok scrumhalf.
"The scrum as far as I'm concerned is not being properly refereed and not being managed within the laws, so I'm going to keep talking about it until someone listens," White said.
