Australia's Nathan Sharpe (L) is shown a yellow card by referee Steve Walsh. Photo / Reuters
CARDIFF - Proud forwards coach Michael Foley defended his developing Wallabies rugby scrum and took a shot at Wales' crafty tactics at Millennium Stadium.
The much-maligned Australian set-piece mixed good with bad as the Wallabies triumphed 32-20.
Foley felt his scrum, once forced into a six-man rugby league
formation, took another small step forward against Wales.
Most impressive was the effort of a seven-man 5-metre scrum on their own line in which the Australians pushed back the crafty Welsh pack.
But they did concede four short and long-arm penalties which raised the ire of Foley and head coach John Connolly.
Connolly labelled scrum interpretations a "black hole" while Foley was scratching his head at New Zealand referee Steve Walsh's rulings.
In comments British fans may see as "Wallabies whingeing", Foley believed Wales' front-rowers manufactured penalties by fading off on strong Wallabies engagements.
"At times when we thought we got a bit of a hit on the Welsh boys were smart enough to pull back and Steve ruled against us," he said.
"The thing that gets me is on one hand the refs might say that we're not a dominant scrum but then when we dominate they penalise us so I scratch my head about that.
"But I tell you what, the Welsh scrum is a very good scrum and we will certainly get to that level in the next year or so but we were very pleased with the way the guys went today."
The scrum will take on even extra importance in the coming weeks as Australia prepare for a probable quarterfinal showdown with England.
The defending champions are in poor shape at present but they possess one of the best scrums in world rugby and will see it as their major weapon against the Wallabies.
Hooker Stephen Moore took issue with Walsh several times in the four-tries-to-two win.
He accused the Welsh props of causing the collapses that won them penalties by "fading".
"I don't think it was our shoulders that were going to ground, it was our hips," he said.
Foley, who singled out the effort of tight-head Guy Shepherdson, said his pack needed to be smarter in adjusting to such tactics.
Wales coach Gareth Jenkins was satisfied with Walsh's interpretations.
Moore said the high contingent of Australians in the 71,022 crowd was a huge help to the Wallabies who silenced the local fans with their hot first-half performance.
- AAP
