Shaggy
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An interesting article in the Sydney Morning Herald where David Nucifora believes that based on the Super Rugby performances, the Wallaby scrum will improve so much that it will be feared by other international teams at the Rugby World Cup ... the all Blacks and the Springboks are specifically mentioned, but not England, who they will probably meet in the semi-finals before they could meet the AB's or the Boks ... personally, I can't see any of these teams fearing the wallabies scrum ... the scrum's only talked about for half the article anyway 
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/u...as-scrums-find-their-feet-20110402-1cscy.html
Nucifora enthused as scrums find their feet
Josh Rakic
April 3, 2011
The Wallabies performance boss believes Australia's Super sides are improving and should supply a pack other World Cup teams will fear, writes Josh Rakic.
Wallabies high-performance director David Nucifora has seen enough in the first half of the Super Rugby season to suggest the Wallabies will be a formidable force at the World Cup, declaring that their scrum should be on the way to becoming the best in the world.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun-Herald, Nucifora ran the rule over Australia's five Super Rugby teams and said that while some franchises might not have reached pre-season expectations so far, overall things were looking positive.
''I don't have any issue around the fact that we've got the players to match it with the All Blacks and Springboks come World Cup time in the scrum,'' Nucifora said of the tournament that starts in September.
''We know it's an area we have to put a lot of work into, and we are, and I believe we'll be confident enough to match it with any scrum in the world. Scrummaging at the start of the season was probably a little bit disappointing from a management point of view and a compliance point of view.
''But I think the referees are working hard now, too, and there's a consistent message getting out there to the teams and scrummaging is certainly on the improve. And looking at all the numbers and statistics that I've seen, it is improving. Again, we expect to see that continue.''
While he admitted the Waratahs' lull had been a concern both for franchise and the national selectors, he said the individual performances of some players had been pleasing. He was impressed with the attacking flair shown in most games by the Tahs and the other franchises, the Queensland Reds earning special mention.
However, while he had been buoyed by the defensive grit shown by the Western Force over the first five rounds of the competition, he said the Australian franchises needed to toughen up their defence - especially around the ruck.
''Sixty per cent of match penalties come from the tackle contest, so that's an area where we have to keep improving,'' Nucifora said. ''Players can't get carried away. The contest at the tackle, you've always got to keep working on that. It's always a big part of the game, particularly this year.
''Referees are getting better with a sharpening of focus around the tackle, getting the tackler away quickly and getting the man to release the tackled player.
''But teams need to keep focusing on playing within the laws of the game because one of thing we don't want to see is teams and individual players that infringe a lot. We can't afford to carry them, at any level. Players have to be smart and play within the laws of the game.
''That aside, there have been some very good defensive displays. And what we're looking for there is building to have that required attitude to be a good defensive team. I think that's been shown by a number of teams. The Force have been consistent up until last week. The Tahs were good early. There's enough there, for what stage we're at, to be very positive and to build on.''
The Wallabies went some way towards correcting their attacking woes on the spring tour by using the likes of Drew Mitchell, Quade Cooper and Kurtley Beale. And with the emergence of James O'Connor as a deadly No.10, Nucifora said the Wallabies' attack was primed to be the most dangerous and wide ranging in years.
''Individually, looking at what players are doing, there have been lots of good performances across the board. I think there's lots of positivity there and the good thing is we're starting to see some real depth building in specific positions. That's giving us competition for players and that's what we're keen to see at international level.
''We're in a lot better predicament than we were 12 months ago. If we go back two or three years, we were quite dependent on a number of players where now we've got some genuine choice in a number of different positions. That's what we've wanted to achieve.
''I think the players who've had a taste, you can see the confidence now build in their Super Rugby performances, a level of maturity among our younger players. They've got a lot more strings to their bow now, which is what we need to achieve at international level.
''The attack we've seen from a number of our teams has been very pleasing - the Reds are starting to put it together in that respect. I thought the Waratahs did very well early on with the style of game they were playing the first few rounds.
''So there's enough there for us to be confident with what we're seeing from an attack point of view. But there's still a lot of weeks left and we'll be certainly looking for a lot of improvement from where teams are at the moment.''
Overall, he said the Australian sides compared well to the rival conferences but said consistency was needed if any Australian side was to threaten for the Super Rugby ***le.
''At different times and at different matches, our guys have probably taken the foot off the pedal. But when they apply themselves, I think they have met expectations of where you want teams to be at the end of the year. I think there has been some really good rugby played by all of our teams at different times in the first seven rounds. What we are still searching for is to get more of them showing more consistency.''
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/u...as-scrums-find-their-feet-20110402-1cscy.html
Nucifora enthused as scrums find their feet
Josh Rakic
April 3, 2011
The Wallabies performance boss believes Australia's Super sides are improving and should supply a pack other World Cup teams will fear, writes Josh Rakic.
Wallabies high-performance director David Nucifora has seen enough in the first half of the Super Rugby season to suggest the Wallabies will be a formidable force at the World Cup, declaring that their scrum should be on the way to becoming the best in the world.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun-Herald, Nucifora ran the rule over Australia's five Super Rugby teams and said that while some franchises might not have reached pre-season expectations so far, overall things were looking positive.
''I don't have any issue around the fact that we've got the players to match it with the All Blacks and Springboks come World Cup time in the scrum,'' Nucifora said of the tournament that starts in September.
''We know it's an area we have to put a lot of work into, and we are, and I believe we'll be confident enough to match it with any scrum in the world. Scrummaging at the start of the season was probably a little bit disappointing from a management point of view and a compliance point of view.
''But I think the referees are working hard now, too, and there's a consistent message getting out there to the teams and scrummaging is certainly on the improve. And looking at all the numbers and statistics that I've seen, it is improving. Again, we expect to see that continue.''
While he admitted the Waratahs' lull had been a concern both for franchise and the national selectors, he said the individual performances of some players had been pleasing. He was impressed with the attacking flair shown in most games by the Tahs and the other franchises, the Queensland Reds earning special mention.
However, while he had been buoyed by the defensive grit shown by the Western Force over the first five rounds of the competition, he said the Australian franchises needed to toughen up their defence - especially around the ruck.
''Sixty per cent of match penalties come from the tackle contest, so that's an area where we have to keep improving,'' Nucifora said. ''Players can't get carried away. The contest at the tackle, you've always got to keep working on that. It's always a big part of the game, particularly this year.
''Referees are getting better with a sharpening of focus around the tackle, getting the tackler away quickly and getting the man to release the tackled player.
''But teams need to keep focusing on playing within the laws of the game because one of thing we don't want to see is teams and individual players that infringe a lot. We can't afford to carry them, at any level. Players have to be smart and play within the laws of the game.
''That aside, there have been some very good defensive displays. And what we're looking for there is building to have that required attitude to be a good defensive team. I think that's been shown by a number of teams. The Force have been consistent up until last week. The Tahs were good early. There's enough there, for what stage we're at, to be very positive and to build on.''
The Wallabies went some way towards correcting their attacking woes on the spring tour by using the likes of Drew Mitchell, Quade Cooper and Kurtley Beale. And with the emergence of James O'Connor as a deadly No.10, Nucifora said the Wallabies' attack was primed to be the most dangerous and wide ranging in years.
''Individually, looking at what players are doing, there have been lots of good performances across the board. I think there's lots of positivity there and the good thing is we're starting to see some real depth building in specific positions. That's giving us competition for players and that's what we're keen to see at international level.
''We're in a lot better predicament than we were 12 months ago. If we go back two or three years, we were quite dependent on a number of players where now we've got some genuine choice in a number of different positions. That's what we've wanted to achieve.
''I think the players who've had a taste, you can see the confidence now build in their Super Rugby performances, a level of maturity among our younger players. They've got a lot more strings to their bow now, which is what we need to achieve at international level.
''The attack we've seen from a number of our teams has been very pleasing - the Reds are starting to put it together in that respect. I thought the Waratahs did very well early on with the style of game they were playing the first few rounds.
''So there's enough there for us to be confident with what we're seeing from an attack point of view. But there's still a lot of weeks left and we'll be certainly looking for a lot of improvement from where teams are at the moment.''
Overall, he said the Australian sides compared well to the rival conferences but said consistency was needed if any Australian side was to threaten for the Super Rugby ***le.
''At different times and at different matches, our guys have probably taken the foot off the pedal. But when they apply themselves, I think they have met expectations of where you want teams to be at the end of the year. I think there has been some really good rugby played by all of our teams at different times in the first seven rounds. What we are still searching for is to get more of them showing more consistency.''
