All Blacks: Franks admission he has a lot to learn

Owen Franks is made to scrummage, not to run. Photo / Getty Images

For Owen Franks, the return to set-piece rugby has been cause for celebration. The 22-year-old tight-head loved the fact there were 24 scrums at Twickenham - almost double the average during the Tri-Nations.

The Cantabrian would be happy if there were double the number again this morning. The high-tempo fluidity of Tri Nations this year was not altogether Franks' cup of tea, in spite of his mobility. All that running had him heading to the bench after 45 minutes most weeks.

He's made to scrummage, not to run. His mission on this tour is to fast-track his scrummaging education. The coaches want him to be exposed to rival props who can ask tough questions, as Andrew Sheridan did in London.

They want Franks to be worked hard, forced to refine and evolve his technique each week. Most of all they want Franks to feel confident he can scrummage against the northern hemisphere heavyweights ahead of next year's World Cup.

It is inevitable that, when the pressure comes on in the knockout rounds of the tournament, mistakes will be made and the number of scrums per test will climb.

As England showed last week, when there are 20-plus scrums in a game, the contest can be greatly influenced by a dominant pack. The All Blacks were steady on their own ball, but when England were putting in, the penalties flowed as Sheridan was able to force Franks sideways.

"I am not here to make excuses," says Franks. "On our ball it was fine but when it was their ball, they got the outcome they wanted so it was one-nil to England."

Far from being despondent, Franks lapped up the post-match analysis to see what intelligence could be gained. In his view, and that of forwards coach Steve Hansen, the problem was not getting the angle quite right on engagement - which allowed the English to splice the front-row and force Franks to crab.

If Franks was a grizzled veteran, such a performance could possibly have had selection ramifications. But he's barely 22 and without doubt the best tighthead in the country.

Any difficulties he encounters on this tour will be accepted as vital learning. As long as Franks shows the willingness to learn, to train hard and to take his usual aggression and energy into each game, then the coaches will tolerate him not always getting it right.

"He's only 22 and he's going to come across things he hasn't experienced before and Saturday was a good lesson for him," says assistant coach Steve Hansen.

Franks' apprenticeship is not one that can be learned any other way than in the heat of battle. As well as learning the importance of getting the initial engagement correct, Franks was also reminded in London that the set-piece in these parts is not as rushed as it is in the southern hemisphere.

"Much of it is adapting to the way the guys over here scrum," he says. "They keep the ball in a bit longer. We are used to getting the ball out a bit quicker. I have got to try to scrum a little bit longer, be able to keep it up. It is good to be able to scrum against all these different props heading into the World Cup."

Keeping the scrum up for a second longer might not sound much to the uninitiated, but Franks says it is a massive effort. The toll scrummaging takes can be enormous - sapping the legs and lungs, making it tough to contribute in other parts of the field. There is also the pounding the body can take when the ball stays in the set-piece for that little bit longer.

"If you have good technique it transfers quite nicely," says Franks. "But if your back is a bit out of line, or if your neck is not quite in the right spot then that is where you feel it. You have a lot of pressure coming from both ways and it is not transferring properly. You get the same old aches and pains and you can really feel them the day after."

None of this is said in complaint or with any hint of self-pity. Franks is old school, loves his trade and knows how lucky he is to be here having arrived in professional football via the club scene rather than the academy route.

"When I was 18, I was working a 40-50-hour week in a fish factory playing club footy and I thought at the time how awesome it would be to live the life of a professional rugby player.

"To say I didn't get a hiding .. . I'd be lying. As a prop, everyone has to get one but it wasn't every week. Every now and again you would get one, though - a little lesson that stayed with you."