England address ‘illegal’ All Blacks scrummaging with World Rugby after Brian Moore’s ‘pretty clear’ advice
Jamie George talking to Nika Amashukeli, plus England legend Brian Moore.
England have sought clarity from World Rugby over the set-piece issues from last weekend and will also speak to referee Nic Berry ahead of Saturday’s clash.
The Red Rose impressed in the first Test but eventually went down 16-15 to New Zealand where the scrum played an important part in the match.
After the encounter, former England hooker Brian Moore accused the All Blacks of scrummaging “illegally”, with Ethan de Groot the player he singled out.
Moore’s view
“England’s scrum got on the wrong side of the referee but, as pinpointed by Sky Sports’ co-commentator David Flatman, that was because Nika Amashukeli failed to notice that Ethan de Groot was illegally shifting outside Will Stuart and driving straight upwards,” Moore wrote in his Telegraph column.
De Groot was penalised once by Amashukeli in the second period, but Moore felt the Kiwi loosehead was consistently transgressing.
The 62-year-old also suggested that Steve Borthwick and England should take their complaints “in private” to World Rugby, and that is exactly what they have done.
“What people have said is out there and pretty clear to see, and we have had some good feedback from World Rugby around what their take on it was,” captain Jamie George said.
“I think we have every confidence in Nic Berry making sure that he makes the right call this weekend.
“Looking back on it, I think we can do a better job at getting to the contest quicker but at the same time we need to control what we can control. That’s the main point.
“In doing that, we talked about being aggressive and physical and confrontational. That’s what we need to make sure we do. Technically as a front-row, there are things that we can do to make sure the pictures are clearer so that’s what we have been focusing on.”
Australian Berry is the person in charge of the series finale at Eden Park and Borthwick will address the matter with him ahead of Saturday’s contest.
“We’ll ask him the areas he has seen and what his view of the game this weekend will be. Clearly, the scrum will be one of those areas we will ask for his view on,” the head coach said.
“We will ask for Nic Berry’s perspective and we will obviously put forward what we have seen, and have a conversation. That’s the approach we always have with the officials.”
Fin Baxter’s first start
England’s task has been made harder in the scrum following the foot injury sustained to experienced prop Joe Marler in the first half of last weekend’s game.
Youngster Fin Baxter came on for his debut in Dunedin and will now make his first international start, with 23-year-old Bevan Rodd residing on the bench.
Baxter has long been regarded as a big talent but it will be a massive test against All Blacks powerhouses Tyrel Lomax and Fletcher Newell.
“What impressed me was that he just took everything in his stride,” George said of the loosehead. “It is a difficult situation, we were under pressure scrum-time when Joe went off and for him to come on as a 22-year-old it can be quite daunting.
“You can sit back and think, ‘I will ease my way into this’. He threw himself into it. What impressed me the most was his scrummaging is strong.
“He is a very strong kid and has a huge future in this game. His work index, the way he moved around the field, was very impressive.”
