Gregor Paul: Why can't the Aussies scrum?

Wallaby forwards pack down a scrum during the Australian Wallabies Captain's Run at Etihad Stadium. Photo / Getty Images.

It is one of rugby's great mysteries that Australians can't scrum.

It's not rocket science - find some big men, help them get stronger, teach them some basic technical expertise and encourage them to keep their spines in line and hang in there.

Obviously some nations - New Zealand, England, France and Argentina - have refined the art, really studied the science and become particularly good at scrummaging. The rest of the world's major playing nations have been happy enough to get by - to build scrums that are functional, capable of holding steady and ensuring possession is delivered.

But not Australia. They have been beaten up by every major nation and some minor ones, too.

Scotland, a notoriously average scrummaging side who usually struggle to cling on during the Six Nations buckled the Wallaby tight five in June.

Wales had Australia back-pedalling as well and the All Blacks could really inflict some serious damage on the weekend and next.

The crazy part is that the Wallabies know what lies ahead; they know they are going to be targeted as they have been for the past decade, and yet, they seem incapable of doing anything about it. What's the problem? Why can't they find decent scrummaging props or good, sturdy, aggressive tight locks?

Is scrumagging just not in the Australian psyche? Was it never programmed into their DNA? Or do they just not know hot to build and condition their athletes to prepare for that side of the game?

Is the whole Australian development system failing to recognise the need to spit out scrummagers into the professional game? Or is it that throughout Australia, the scrum isn't valued and therefore they are looking for different qualities in their tight five? It is an enduring mystery all right and a problem that needs to be fixed.

Modern rugby evolves at an alarming pace but the inescapable truth for the Wallabies is that nearly every defeat inflicted upon them in the last five years has been the direct result of their scrummaging incompetence.

They were done in by England at the 2007 World Cup in that one area. England, in fact, have buckled the Wallaby scrum for fun in the last few years as did the Irish at the last World Cup and the All Blacks.

This glaring problem most certainly hasn't been fixed on the eve of the Rugby Championship. Sekope Kepu is not the answer at tight-head: big man, essentially a Kiwi in terms of his rugby education, but he was a No 8 while at Wesley College and only converted in 2004.

Nathan Sharpe is a lovely bloke and good lineout operator but no Brad Thorn in the engine room. Sitaleki Timani is a big unit: carries well and hits breakdowns hard. But there has been no evidence of him being a genuine scrummaging lock.

Benn Robinson looked handy a while back but might have just got lucky and James Slipper if he gets on might be looking for some glue on Sunday morning to piece himself back together.

This lot can't scrummage and the All Blacks can. That may well be the story of Saturday night and may well be the story of the Rugby Championship from a Wallaby point of view.

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