Hartley in with a chance says England’s 2003 scrum guru
THE set-piece will be absolutely crucial to whatever game-plan Warren Gatland has identified to carry the Lions to victory in the forthcoming series against New Zealand, and when it comes to professors of the scrum and line-out there are none more knowledgeable than Phil Keith-Roach.
When we asked England’s 2003 World Cup-winning setpiece coach to cast his eye over the front row contenders, he started by zeroing in on the hookers.
“It depends which part of the game you take – scrum, line-out or the loose – on who you select as your Test hooker,” Keith Roach said.
He explained: “Rory Best is very strong in the scrum and technically good. I believe that it is very important to get the ball to your No.8’s feet very quickly, especially someone as powerful as Billy Vunipola, and because Best hooks the ball cleanly he can do that for the Lions, just as he does for Ireland. This means that you suddenly have multiple options, whether it’s a No.8 pick-up, a scrum-half move, a back row attack, or a double shove – and against New Zealand those options are more important than ever.”
Ireland captain Best has an advantage at the scrum over his England counterpart Dylan Hartley, according to Keith Roach. “Hartley is okay at the scrum, but sometimes the ball gets stuck and he is not as consistent as Best.”
However, he says that Hartley has the advantage in line-out technique. “Hartley’s throwing record was excellent in the autumn and in the Six Nations, whereas Best’s sometimes goes awry. It happened on the last Lions tour, and also against Wales in the Six Nations – although against England he was hitting everything.
“So, Hartley has an advantage as the best thrower, and also as a player who has worked closely in England camps with the Lions set piece coach Steve Borthwick.”
Keith-Roach says that the picture is complicated further by other candidates like Jamie George, Hartley’s England rival, and Wales hooker Ken Owens, being the front runners in the loose.
“George is a wonderful rugby player who is phenomenal ball in hand. His throwing is pretty good also, and he has an excellent temperament. They say he’s strong in the scrum, but he still loses the odd put-in for Saracens because he uses his knee to deflect it, and the ball gets stuck in the tunnel. Owens is also a good allrounder, but is part of a Welsh front row that has looked vulnerable.”
Keith Roach considers all of them to be credible Test candidates, and says that those writing off Hartley as Lions captain should pause for thought. “It’s not out of the question it could be Hartley given that his set piece work is strong, and he has worked closely with Lions scrum coach Graham Rowntree, as well as Borthwick.”
He believes the Lions are well-equipped at prop, with Mako Vunipola, Jack McGrath and Joe Marler the leading contenders at loosehead, and Tadgh Furlong, Dan Cole and Zander Fagerson doing the same at tight-head.
“Furlong is very strong with a perfect body position, and Cole is fitter than before. Fagerson has been very good for Glasgow, but was encouraged to pack too low for Scotland.
“I would put him and Munster’s John Ryan ahead of Kyle Sinckler, even though he is such a dynamic carrier, because he has a habit of being driven out of the top of the scrum.”
Whoever the Lions pick in the front row Keith Roach warns they will need to be on top of their set-piece game because of the influence of Kiwi scrum guru, Mike Cron.
“The New Zealand provincial opposition will not fall down because Cron’s techniques are very consistent. They might be surprised by the Lions’ power, but you wouldn’t want to base your whole strategy on overwhelming them.”