Pocock and Folau missing out is a huge boost for us
WHAT an emotional rollercoaster it has been for Scotland this week. There was the high of beating Samoa and reaching the World Cup quarter-finals and then the low of losing two players to suspension after a citing that came out of the blue.
Jonny Gray and Ross Ford are not available f or tomorrow’s clash against Australia after both received a three-week ban for a double tackle on Samoa’s Jack Lam.
What is strange is that referee Jaco Peyper stated in his report that he saw the incident and was happy with his decision and punishment — a penalty to Samoa.
What the tribunal is basically saying, after giving both players the same ban, is that Peyper should have sent off Gray and Ford for the same tackle.
This would never happen and asks serious questions about how the laws are interpreted differently on and off the pitch. There must be consistency in interpretation and in punishments given out, as Scotland appear to have come off badly when compared to some of the other offences that have occurred during this tournament.
So we are without two of our best players f or this huge game at Twickenham, but the rugby gods are maybe looking after Scotland again because Australia have also been dealt a double blow.
They are without two of their best players, David Pocock and Israel Folau, because of injury and will badly miss two world-class players — so this is a huge boost for the Scots.
Folau burst on to the scene during the Lions Test series two years ago and his match up with George North was awesome.
Since then, he has gone from strength to strength. He is a fantastic broken-field runner and is brilliant under the high ball.
His replacement, Kurtley Beale, is a good player but not in the same league as Folau.
From a neutral’s point of view, it would have been great to see Stuart Hogg and Folau battle it out.
The injury to Pocock means that the combination of him and Michael Hooper in the back row, so effective against England, has been broken up.
Yesterday, Scotland announced their team before Australia, with Blair Cowan coming in for Ryan Wilson. They made this call not knowing that Pocock was going to miss the game through injury.
Would Scotland have picked the same team if they had known this? I am not so sure, but it is done and it could give Vern Cotter’s men an advantage in t he back r ow, especially at the breakdown.
Hooper is a class act and can cause real damage at the breakdown if he is not stopped.
John Hardie has been immense ever since he first wore the blue jersey and he will need another big game tomorrow.
He has been very physical in both attack and defence. One of his roles will be to target Hooper before he gets on to the tackled player because, once the Aussie star is there, he is impossible to move and a penalty will occur.
Hardie needs to get to the tackle just before, or at the same time, and ‘hit’ Hooper before he latches on to the ball.
This is a tactic we used when I was at Bath. When we played Leicester, we would target Neil Back before he reached the contact and, literally, took him out of the game.
Timing is everything. If it is too early, you will be penalised but, if it is too late, you will get penalised or a turnover.
Cowan’s selection works because it spreads the workload between him and Hardie. This will be a fascinating battle that will go a long way to deciding the match.
There i s no doubt that the performance of the tight five can have a real bearing on this clash of the back rows because things are so much easier if they have a platform and are on the front foot.
Australia have found a pack that can do to teams what other teams have done to them for years, and this makes them very dangerous.
Their performance against England in attack, and in defence against Wales, especially when down to 13 men, elevated the Wallabies to potential World Cup winners.
We have beaten them twice in the last three games but a win tomorrow would be the biggest victory Scotland have ever had. Bring it on!
World-class players who’ll be badly missed by Aussies