{"id":167158,"date":"2025-11-30T06:18:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-30T06:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/167158\/"},"modified":"2025-11-30T06:18:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T06:18:12","slug":"what-goes-on-in-there-and-why-ireland-neednt-panic-after-springbok-ordeal-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/167158\/","title":{"rendered":"what goes on in there and why Ireland needn\u2019t panic after Springbok ordeal \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve heard the line many times. Something happens in a scrum. A TV commentator lacking international experience turns to the ex-pro beside them: \u201cWhat in God\u2019s name happened there?\u201d Cue some variation along the theme: \u201cSure it\u2019s a scrum. I\u2019ve never been in one, how do you expect me to explain that mess?\u201d<\/p>\n

With apologies to the handful of ex-frontrows doing sterling work on the airwaves, for the most part, flashy backs get the good gigs. They are happy to admit their lack of knowledge and, for some reason, there is little outcry at someone who is paid to talk about rugby lacking requisite knowledge of the set-piece that makes the sport unique. <\/p>\n

In that spirit, let us turn to the expert. Props are people too. Enter former Ireland<\/a> tighthead Mike Ross, who, thankfully for us all, is more than happy to talk scrums. <\/p>\n

Last Saturday\u2019s scrum demolition at the hand of South Africa<\/a> instantly called to mind a similar battering – Twickenham, 2012. Ross was on the park that day, only to hurt his neck in the first scrum. Tom Court, nominally a loosehead, had to pack down on the opposite side. These were the days of only one prop on the bench. <\/p>\n

A set-piece bloodbath ensued. Both Ross and Court have joked that the carnage prompted World Rugby to add an extra prop to the bench. Best to not have lads scrumming out of position. Who\u2019d have thunk it? <\/p>\n

\u201cWe got a doing over,\u201d acknowledges Ross, recalling the Twickenham nightmare. \u201cBut I don\u2019t think the South Africa game was as bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Come again?<\/p>\n

In 2012, Ireland conceded a penalty try, six penalties and three scrums against the head. On Saturday, Ireland conceded a penalty try, infringed nine times and lost two props to the bin. The numbers aren\u2019t particularly close. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you think back to the last few times we played South Africa, aside from a penalty try in Ellis Park [2024], they\u2019ve been pretty even,\u201d says Ross of the set-piece.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf James Ryan<\/a> stays on the field, does it get to that level? I don\u2019t think so. They probably would have got a few penalties out of us but it would have been fairly even.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hang on, Ryan is a secondrow. Not one of the more rotund chaps paid to lock down a scrum. What\u2019s he got to do with it? A lot, it turns out. <\/p>\n

Without Joe McCarthy, Ryan is Ireland\u2019s best option to scrum at tighthead lock. When he left the pitch, Ryan Baird<\/a> moved into the secondrow. He\u2019s no mug, but he lacks Ryan\u2019s experience in the important role of sticking his head up an international prop\u2019s arse, supporting his team-mate against a burly \u2018Bok. On the bench, Ireland had two backrows in Cian Prendergast and Jack Conan. No lock.<\/p>\n

\"RefereeReferee Matthew Carley signals yet another penalty following an infringement in the scrum during Ireland’s defeat by South Africa. Photograph: Gary Carr\/Inpho <\/p>\n

The domino effect of McCarthy\u2019s absence and Ryan\u2019s card was Bundee Aki packing down at six. \u201cHe\u2019s a big boy and he\u2019s powerful, but would Bundee know to push in on Tadhg [Furlong] and help him out if the picture is changing, if it\u2019s skewing around?\u201d asks Ross.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy very last professional game, I played for the Barbarians against Ulster. I had in the row behind me Patricio Albacete, big unit. Paul Willemse. Then Joe Tekori at blindside, another 130kg beast. I had Chris Masoe at number eight and then [Thierry] Dusautoir on the far side. \u2018Is this what it\u2019s like scrummaging in France?\u2019 It was like scrummaging on easy mode.\u201d<\/p>\n

Size matters. As well the experience of the big lads at pushing hard in the scrum. According to Ross, before Ireland had players shoving out of position, they were already giving up 30kg in the pack. By the time of the penalty try at the end of the first half, with Ireland scrumming with seven forwards and 12 men on the pitch, the gap was closer to 150kg. <\/p>\n

Saturday wasn\u2019t pretty, but it is at least in part explainable by personnel chaos. What, then, about the frontrows themselves? The darks arts. The skulduggery we know goes on but don\u2019t know how to spot. How did South Africa open the gaps for their superior size to burst through?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first scrum, usually as a tighthead you try to head in at 11 o\u2019clock, so to speak. Thomas du Toit was at 10 or nine. If Ireland were doing that, I\u2019d be sitting there applauding.\u201d Right. What have clocks got to do with it?<\/p>\n

The scrum battle comes down to a race to the opposition hooker. Get him out of position and the whole thing implodes. <\/p>\n

Malcolm Marx – \u201cthe best scrummaging hooker since William Servat\u201d, in Ross\u2019s mind – is trying to beat Dan Sheehan on his own. (He did a good job of it more often than not.) Du Toit, the tighthead, is trying to get under Sheehan\u2019s left shoulder. Boan Venter, the loosehead, is trying to dismantle Sheehan\u2019s right shoulder. All while Messrs Sheehan, Furlong and Porter try do the same to Marx. It\u2019s why the first engage is crucial. If you can \u201cwin the six inches\u201d, as Ross calls it, and force the opposition frontrow to take a step back, then you have first dibs at sending the hooker skywards. <\/p>\n

To do this, a prop must overpower his opposite man, leaving him behind and burrowing in on the hooker. The easiest way is to scrum at an angle, aim directly for the hooker\u2019s shoulder. In theory, that is illegal. Props must scrum straight and square. It\u2019s why you see plenty of press on Porter\u2019s hips swinging out, leaving him scrumming at an angle towards the opposition hooker. <\/p>\n

For what it\u2019s worth, Ross says this is largely a \u201cPR campaign\u201d against Porter. Opponents send clips to referees \u201cbecause they\u2019re afraid of him, he\u2019s so strong and can cause a lot of damage\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"SouthSouth African tighthead Thomas du Toit sets up at a slight angle pointing towards the Irish hooker. <\/p>\n

At Saturday\u2019s first scrum, tighthead du Toit took a risk with his angle, according to Ross. He went street for Sheehan, leaving Porter behind and dismantling the Irish scrum. Penalty for the \u2018Boks. Stood on the other side of the scrum, Matthew Carley didn\u2019t spot Toit\u2019s shoulders on set-up pointing to nine or 10 o\u2019clock, instead of 11. In theory, you\u2019re supposed to be at 12. \u201cNo prop stays square and straight,\u201d says Ross.<\/p>\n

Du Toit\u2019s risk paid off. As far as Carley was concerned, South Africa were legally dominant. \u201cThis was the worst picture from South Africa in terms of the angle of the tighthead,\u201d says Ross. \u201cThe other ones are more within the limits of the law. That\u2019s worth taking a risk because you set the tone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ireland\u2019s penalised actions were more often than not Sheehan popping up or Porter swinging out. All occurred because of du Toit and Marx\u2019s success in breaking binds. That was ultimately the game\u2019s dominant scrum narrative. <\/p>\n

One later scrum (granted after three South African penalties) was more equal as Sheehan prevented Marx from getting his way. \u201cSheehan has fractured Marx\u2019s joint,\u201d explains Ross. \u201cBefore, Marx was keeping that shoulder square and down, Sheehan couldn\u2019t get through and he was going backwards. Now, Sheehan has gotten through. This is what they need to do more of.\u201d Both hookers popped up and a reset was called, albeit Furlong prematurely celebrated what he thought was Sheehan alone breaking through.<\/p>\n

\"HookersHookers Dan Sheehan and Malcolm Marx both pop each other’s binds simultaneously. <\/p>\n

In the second half, Ireland changed tack. Scrums started collapsing, instead of splintering. By moving feet slightly back, you bring the height of the scrum down. \u201cA lot of bigger guys prefer be scrummaging up at a certain height,\u201d says Ross. \u201cYou take them low, it\u2019s harder for them to bring their full force to bear.\u201d<\/p>\n

The risk is that feet slip out from underneath you more easily if scrummaging lower. The below example sees Finlay Bealham go down on engage, while opposite man Steenekamp has his feet slip behind him. Aki, scrumming behind Bealham, is convinced that Steenekamp should be pinged for bringing it down. <\/p>\n

\"BealhamBealham takes Steenekamp low, but no penalty comes. <\/p>\n

No penalty came, but Paddy McCarthy wasn\u2019t so lucky when he was binned for a handful of infringements, both for collapsing and being forced to swing out courtesy of Wilco Louw leaving him behind.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s difficult to tell from just one camera angle, but South Africa could easily have been looking to collapse themselves, once Ireland went low. Their first-half dominance paid off. \u201cThe scrum is a good example of compound interest,\u201d says Ross. \u201cIt\u2019s a knock-on effect, Ireland are just in survival mode. If it goes down, it\u2019s on them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tired yet? We\u2019ve discussed just three scrums of the 16 on the day. Figuring this out is a lot to ask of one official who can only stand on one side of the scrum. In theory, the assistant on the far side is supposed to call things in. It takes a big personality to tell a referee one team is illegal on the left while he\u2019s focused on the other lot acting the maggot on the right. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is where I think there\u2019s a need for an ex-prop in a van,\u201d says Ross. Ah here, no more bunkers. <\/p>\n

The overriding message? Don\u2019t panic. This was a historically bad day for the Irish scrum, but there was mitigation. On another day, when Joe McCarthy is fit and Edwin Edogbo has been fast-tracked, the size deficit won\u2019t be as stark. Card chaos won\u2019t always be this bad. Prop techniques will improve and officials won\u2019t be as focused on rewarding the side going forward, instead looking more on how that dominance was achieved (\u201cIgnore the dominant scrum at your peril,\u201d is the verdict of one former referee).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do have good scrummagers, the Irish scrum has been decent the last few years,\u201d affirms Ross. \u201cWhat happened is no harm. I\u2019d much rather have it now than at the 2027 World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We\u2019ve heard the line many times. Something happens in a scrum. A TV commentator lacking international experience turns…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":167159,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[75388,53359,65851,92808,61,60,1449,87073,43,53636,75387,11288,69607],"class_list":["post-167158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-andrew-porter","tag-autumn-nations-series","tag-dan-sheehan","tag-finlay-bealham","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-ireland-rugby","tag-james-ryan","tag-news","tag-paddy-mccarthy","tag-ryan-baird","tag-south-africa-rugby","tag-tadhg-furlong"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=167158"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167158\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/167159"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=167158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=167158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}