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Rupert Bates | November 1, 2009
NOBODY wears replica rugby jerseys with 1, 2 or 3 on the back - as a fashion statement it shouts ''fat boy''.
All the hype ahead of England against Australia at Twickenham next Saturday will not be on the front row, but Jonny Wilkinson against Matt Giteau in the pivotal contest at five-eighth. The No.10 replica jersey is what female supporters wear, usually with ''marry me'' scrawled over it.
Giteau makes the headlines because he is engaged to Lance ''Buddy'' Franklin's sister. Wilkinson is news because his full name is actually Jonny ''Whose Drop-goal Beat Australia In The World Cup Final In Sydney'' Wilkinson.
The English love to talk about Wilkinson, now playing in France, not just because he is a great player reconstructed after an extraordinary catalogue of injuries, but because they get to mention his name in full and wind up every Australian on the planet. The English media will not quiz Giteau about Bianca as they haven't a clue who Buddy is and what AFL stands for.
Yet it is up front where Saturday's game will be won and lost. At Twickenham four years ago, England prop Andrew Sheridan caused such carnage in victory that Wallaby props Al Baxter and Matt Dunning failed to last the match. In the 2007 World Cup quarter-final in France, it was a similar story, with the England front row utterly dominant.
The English have routinely ridiculed Australian front rows down the years and invariably had them on toast. But not last year at Twickenham, where in a stunning reversal of machismo, the much-maligned Baxter got his revenge on Sheridan at the set-piece and young Australian prop Benn Robinson announced himself as a forward of influence and attitude.
It is a mad, bad and dangerous position to play, with incredible weight to bear when two packs collide in a manner that would have rutting stags running for the hills.
''Crouch, touch, pause, engage'' is not the four bases of courtship, but what the referee shouts before the front rows come together. It takes its toll. Sheridan, who could bench-press the cast of Kath & Kim even before Sharon lost weight, has popped his shoulder. England hooker Lee Mears is out with a knee injury and tight-heads Phil Vickery and Julian White are also crocked.
Appropriately enough, the likely starting props for England are Tim ''no'' Payne and Duncan Bell, not the first prop with the nickname Belly.
The man who knows both scrums is former England prop Trevor Woodman, who won the World Cup aged 27, only to retire from rugby two years later with a back injury.
Rather than punching walls, the Cornishman took himself to Australia to get away from it all.
"I fell into coaching with Sydney University," said Woodman. He made a huge impression, going on to become Australia's scrum coach. Woodman is now back in England, coaching Premiership club Wasps, including his old mate Vickery.
"There has been a change of attitude in Australia to front-row play and new scrum coach Patricio Noriega [the former Argentine and Wallaby prop] has done a lot of work on the mindset. It is no good getting the technical side right if you do not have the drive and passion for the battle," said Woodman.
Before England, the Wallabies face Woodman and Vickery's former club Gloucester on Tuesday.
At Twickenham, the cameras will linger on Wilkinson and Giteau. But watch the first scrum and note how new Wallabies captain Rocky Elsom gees up the fat boys. For most, including referees, the front row is all muscle and mystery. The masters of the dark arts prefer it that way.
http://www.rugbyheaven.com.au/news/n...835188938.html
http://www.rugbyheaven.com.au/news/n...835188938.html
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Was the wait worth it - Ya betta baby 
Originally Posted by Thequeerone
