Wallaby scrum woes 'hurt' Robinson
Tue, 29 Jun 2010 12:14
Wallaby prop Benn Robinson, who is confident of being fit in time for his side's Tri-Nations opener against South Africa next month, insists Australia will be a far more formidable scrum force in the months to come.
Robinson said the lessons learnt from the hammerings they took at the hands of England in the two-Test series - which ended one-all - will ensure the likes of Ben Daley, Salesi Ma'afu and Saia Faingaa will all be better for the experience.
"That hurts me just as much as it hurts them out on the field when there's penalties against them," Robinson said of the June Tests - which saw the wobbly Wallaby scrum concede two penalty tries in the first Test and had a player yellow carded for repeated collapsed scrums.
"With the amount of work you've put in over the last three or four years it's tough to see the boys do it tough out there," he said.
"Experience definitely does play a big part, but those boys, as it showed against Ireland last Saturday, they'll definitely take steps forward.
"Our scrum's been building for the past three or four years now and we're right up there with one of the best scrums in the world, so I think for those blokes to be thrown in the deep end is very healthy for them and healthy for rugby in Australia."
Meanwhile, Robinson labelled New Zealand the team to beat in the upcoming Tri-Nations tournament, but is confident the Wallabies can end their nine-year drought, having not lifted the trophy since 2001.
"I don't think you can ever write off the All Blacks," he said.
"They've been on top of the game for a long time now and I think for them they're a very consistent team and they put on very consistent performances all the time, so they're going to be a tough team to battle against.
"But I think the level of footy in the Super 14 [from the Australian teams] was very high and we expect to see a transfer of that into the Tri-Nations as well."
Robinson is confident he will be fit in time for his side's Tri-Nations opener against South Africa in Brisbane on July 24, saying he's be playing in a club game before then to shake of any rustiness.
The 25-year-old, who is hoping to play at least one game for his club side Eastwood in the coming weeks, said he was "champing at the bit" to get back out there again.
He missed the first four Wallaby Tests of the year due to a fracture in his right arm.
"This is probably the longest break I've had in a long time and, as much as you like giving your body a break, you definitely want to be out there in those games and giving it your all.
"I'm at the seven-week mark now and the doc initially said six to eight weeks and I'll be playing again. It's feeling pretty good, I had an X-ray on it last week and the scan was good."
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