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Forward thinking
John Connolly | November 23, 2008
One man that would have taken particular satisfaction in the Wallabies' victory over England is Michael Foley. The forwards coach has received praise from a number of quarters following the performance of the Australian scrum - and rightfully so.
When he returned from overseas, there was a shift in the style of Australia's forward play. The world's top teams focused on the scrum, breakdown and lineout technique, while Australia was very much focused on what they were doing after they won the ball.
But there's no point focusing on that without building the platform. It all starts at the bottom, with the national coach at the mercy of what the states give him. I still recall the time one particular provincial coach talked about the 2-3 second scrum.
Australia have suffered since the 1999 World Cup, the end of the Rod Macqueen-John Eales era. We've suffered at the hands of England's Andy Sheridan. All Blacks tight-head Carl Hayman has also caused us massive problems.
Unfortunately he could be back to torment us again in an All Blacks jersey next year, although it remains to be seen if he's still at the peak of his powers.
And we won't soon forget the barrage we copped from Jake White's South African teams before Tri Nations games.
Foley cut his teeth in Europe. Other Australian coaches - Tony McGahan at Munster, Matt Williams at Ulster, Leinster's Michael Cheika, Steve Meehan at Bath, Brian Smith (now England's assistant coach) at London Irish and Ewen McKenzie at Stade Francais - have done likewise. All of them would be of the same opinion - if your scrum, lineout and breakdown aren't up to scratch, you don't win.
Foley played 50 Tests for the Wallabies and 111 games for Queensland.
On the field, he was a very tough competitor. The experience he gained coaching in England week in and week out - and the pressure that goes with that - gave him a great understanding of what is required to succeed.
When he returned to Australia more than two years ago, the ARU set up a national forwards unit. Foley's brief was to get around to all the states and work with the young front-rowers.
The likes of Benn Robinson, Al Baxter and Matt Dunning have taken their game to another level under his guidance. More recently, Sekope Kepu and Ben Alexander have pushed their way into the national team and he has also put a lot of work into Guy Shepherdson and Greg Holmes.
There's no doubt Foley's work on the scrum, lineout and breakdown with the national squad will rub off on our provincial level.
You only have to look at the success the All Blacks have had under forwards coach Mike Cron.
We need coaches to focus on this aspect of the game but, more importantly, it's about getting the right person for the job.
In Michael Foley, Australia has the right man.
Source: The Sun-Herald
http://www.rugbyheaven.com.au/news/i...770802325.html
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