No relief for Wallabies in front row tussle

Graham Henry

The All Blacks' rugby rotation policy was given another positive spin yesterday, though one area of the team remains sacrosanct when the Wallabies loom -- the first choice front row is an unmovable object.

While head coach Graham Henry brought in rookie centre Isaia Toeava and junior lock Jason Eaton into the starting line-up for Saturday's potentially Tri-Nations clinching Bledisloe Cup clash at Eden Park, he stayed true to the front row that has inflicted physical and psychological damage on their Wallaby counterparts.

There was no thought of altering the triumvirate that caused Greg Holmes, Jeremy Paul and Rodney Blake problems in Brisbane as the Cup was retained last month.

Tighthead Carl Hayman, hooker Keven Mealamu and loosehead Tony Woodcock remain clearly at the top of the pack pecking order.

"They've got the wood on Australia at the moment, at scrum time, and I don't to let that pressure off," he said.

"We want to continue with that psychological edge."

The news for the Wallabies did not get any better closer to home with former prop Chris Handy warning it could be two or three years before Australia fields a dominant front row and a weakness there will be debilitating at the weekend.

"I think the scrum will be under pressure and I can't see us getting that sufficient quality of ball when we want it to use it the best way," he told Australian media.

"It is hard to believe we can produce a dominant performance in the scrum, you couldn't expect there would be a remarkable turnaround."

He argued problems with the Wallabies scrum were evidenced by their lack of back-row options.

"We are devoid of them as a realistic option to take pressure off Gregan and Larkham. And it has just never been so obvious as it was against South Africa (in Sydney on August 5)," he said.

"The lack of a stable scrum means we haven't been able to use back-row moves for a bloody long time."

Ben Darwin, whose career was ended by a neck injury during the 2003 World Cup semifinal, added to the negative wide surrounding a Wallabies camp seeking to stay alive in the Tri-Nations by winning in Auckland for the first time since 1986.

He feared Australia could not hope to claim the No.1 or 2 ranking as a scrummaging force until depth developed.

"That is something I don't think a lot of people want to say," Darwin told The Daily Telegraph newspaper.

"I can't see them training any harder or putting in any more effort than they currently are.

"I would look to bring up the next guys as quickly as we can," he said.

Meanwhile, as the Wallabies brace themselves for another torrid examination at scrum time, Henry has revisited the curious theory that a loss could inadvertently be a significant stepping stone to World Cup glory.

Currently on a 13-match winning streak, the All Blacks have not experienced the bitter pill of defeat since they were ambushed by the Springboks in Cape Town last year, shortly following a whitewash of the British and Irish Lions.

Henry first spoke of the value in losing ahead of the Brisbane test (won 13-9) and reiterated the view yesterday after naming a team that featured three changes from the line-up that retained the Bledisloe Cup.

"I think it's (winning) in an Achilles heel for us at the moment.

"We have to go to the next level (in preparation for the World Cup) and often you go to the next level by losing. Then you dissect the reasons why you lost .... analyse all of that then set some targets and go again.

"We've won a few in a row, we're beaten once in two years -- it's a problem: can you learn from winning?"

Whatever the outcome, Toeava and Eaton will learn a valuable rugby lesson having been picked specifically to develop their rugby education.

Toeava has the security of making just his third start in tests on his home track with backs coach Wayne Smith admitting the venue had influenced a change in midfield which sees Mils Muliaina return to fullback and Leon MacDonald drop to the bench.

"Ice (Toeava) is familiar with Mils and he'll be a great help," Smith said.

- NZPA