Peter Bills: Visitors looking vulnerable at scrum time

The truth behind South Africa's problems at scrum time in this year's test rugby has been laid bare.

There was good news and bad news for the Springboks in the loss to Australia last week but the All Blacks won't take too much encouragement from the dossier.

The Springboks' scrummaging woes were not down to captain John Smit, but two other key factors, former Springbok tight head Cobus Visagie claimed in a detailed analysis.

Visagie, technically one of the best scrummaging tight heads South Africa has ever had, said that the technical failings of hooker Bismarck du Plessis and a poor record of attending to scrummaging technique by their coaches, were the reasons the 'Bok scrum has struggled twice against Australia in this season's Tri-Nations.

Visagie, now commercial director at London club Saracens, believes the general perception of hooker du Plessis was that, because he was so strong in the upper body, he was difficult to scrummage against. But he was not.

"At Saracens, we have two South African hookers and an Italian hooker who has played against Bismarck. They all say he is very high in his scrummaging engagement and not difficult to scrum against. The perception is, because he is very strong, he is a very good scrummager but he isn't.

"With a better scrummaging hooker, John Smit wouldn't struggle."

Visagie, who retired from playing last year, said that another problem was with the coaching of scrummaging in South Africa. "How can the Australians be better at scrummaging than the South Africans," he asked.

"Without mentioning names, I feel there is a major weakness in scrummage coaching in South Africa.

"People talk about the amount of big props in South Africa yet we can't produce a scrum ... I don't think it's down to John Smit. He is a strong guy and there is no reason why he cannot make the adjustment to tight head from hooker. One of the problems has been that South Africa, because they have been successful results-wise in recent times, have smoothed over some major problems. They have been able to get away with it ... But now they have been found out."

Yet Visagie's critique contained few words of comfort for the All Blacks ahead of tomorrow's test. Putting it bluntly, he feels that a New Zealand front row without Carl Hayman and Anton Oliver is not good enough to make such a mess of the South African scrum as the Wallabies managed in Perth and Brisbane.

"The Australian scrum is much better than New Zealand's," said Visagie. "It is possible Tony Woodcock could exploit it because he is one of the best in the world. But he hasn't scrummaged that well since Oliver and Hayman left.

"Anyway, the most pressure is exerted from hooker and the Australian hookers are very good scrummagers. Stephen Moore is among the top three scrummagers in the world at the moment and Polota-Nau definitely knows what he's about, too."

Visagie is not critical of the South African play overall; he thinks they have done well. But he confesses his bemusement that so physical a team has put pressure on the opposition at just about every phase except the set scrums, the one area where they ought to have the physicality to dish out the severest of physical examinations to the opposition.

"How can we scrum badly if we have the biggest pack in world rugby? But then, it is not about size but technique.

"Generally, at the moment of contact, the angle between thigh and calf needs to be 120 degrees. You need to stand in that angle pre-engagement for the contact.

But Bismarck du Plessis is incredibly high before the set-up and John Smit is almost straight in the set-up, he is too angular, too high in his hips.

If you want to meet the opposition, you almost have to dive down when you engage so your shoulders are lower than your hips. Yes, that is penalisable but you do that or get the scrum up.

"I thought John Smit did well in his first test against the Lions but as a unit since then, they have been getting higher and higher in their set up. That is why I believe it is more a coaching issue than anything else."

* Peter Bills is a rugby writer for Independent News & Media in London.