A game of rugby union between England and Australia does not count as a proper Test these days unless there is a protracted debate over the validity of both sides’ scrummaging techniques. This week has been no exception, with the Wallabies even looking to gatecrash a routine pre-arranged sit-down between England’s coaches and the match referee Craig Joubert.
It is customary for almost all international sides to meet the referee in advance, and every recent English head coach has generally made a habit of doing so. Rarely, though, does a rival head coach, in this case Australia’s Michael Cheika, activate the little-used clause in World Rugby’s small print which also permits the opposing side to attend any such meeting. “The English guys wanted to see the ref so we will go along and have a listen,” said Cheika, insisting the Wallabies were merely adhering to the rules.
Given Cheika publicly announced last week he had no idea what the protocols were and saw no huge reason to talk to referees before games, it is reasonable to assume the Wallabies are distinctly wary of permitting the English scrum even the slightest advantage before the series-defining second Test in Melbourne. In the first Test defeat in Brisbane, the home side had their loosehead Scott Sio sent to the sinbin at a crucial juncture and have subsequently changed both their starting props this weekend.
With the former Australian coach Bob Dwyer and former captain Phil Kearns having also weighed in by suggesting Dan Cole was fortunate not to be penalised at Suncorp Stadium, England are equally sensitive to claims they are not scrummaging fairly. During last year’s World Cup pool game between the countries, England had regular issues at the set-piece, with Australia frequently enjoying the upper hand. Joe Marler’s potshot at Dwyer on Twitter this week was merely the latest installment in a long-running argument.
With Sio and Greg Holmes replaced by James Slipper and Sekope Kepu for this particular game, Cheika is certainly taking a keener interest in talking to Joubert than was the case with France’s Romain Poite last week. “There’s a meeting today, with the referee, with both teams together,” Cheika said. “We didn’t ask the referee for the meeting. The rules are that if you ask for a meeting, the other team gets invited if they want to take up the opportunity. We figured we would. We didn’t know last week so we will [attend] this week.”
Given Owen Farrell is in outstanding kicking form, there is an obvious incentive for Australia to limit the number of scrum penalties they concede, with England equally keen to profit from a part of the game where they believe they might once again be able to chisel an advantage. The forwards coach, Steve Borthwick, confirmed it was not normal practice, “in my experience”, for both sides to meet the referee simultaneously but, equally, England do not want Joubert to feel he is being unduly pressurised.
“If they’re allowed to do it [attend the meeting] there’s no problem,” said Borthwick. “We had Craig Joubert in the Six Nations. He’s one of the world’s best refs and we have every confidence he’ll referee the scrum well.” Joubert is equally familiar to the Wallabies, having taken charge of their World Cup quarter-final against Scotland when a controversial late refereeing call swung the contest in Australia’s favour.
Cheika, meanwhile, has finalised his bench, with the Western Force utility back Luke Morahan returning to the matchday squad for the first time since his debut against Scotland in 2012. The No8 Wycliff Palu, openside Liam Gill and lock James Horwill were the three omitted from the extended squad, with Cheika opting this time for a more balanced five-three split between forwards and backs.
The Wallabies have very little margin for error having lost the first Test, but Cheika insists he feels no added pressure. “Of course we want to bounce back. It hurts losing, it hurts a lot; there’s no brushing that away and that pain sits inside you,” he said. “That’s what drives a lot of us; the feelings you get after the game in the dressing-room, the great emotions of victory and the pain and the hardship of losing.
“But as I’ve said before, there’s no need to feel pressure in this game because there are really serious things going on out there [in the world]. Obviously we want to win, we’re not naive of that, but more important is that we play our best. We want to make Australia proud by the way we play the game.”
