Henry sees weakness in Wallabies' scrum
June 6, 2001

Lions coach Graham Henry said Wednesday
Australia's scrum looked shaky if they had to name two uncapped props in their
squad to play the New Zealand Maori in Sydney on Saturday.

The Maori match is the only trial the world champion Wallabies get before
the first of three Tests against the Lions in Brisbane on June 30.

Either the Brumbies' Ben Darwin or Queensland's Nick Stiles will start
alongside Glenn Panoho, the only other specialist prop included, against the
unbeaten Maori.

"Obviously I guess they've got some concerns about their scrum," Henry said
in Perth as the Lions prepared for their tour opener against Western Australia on Friday.

"It will be interesting to see how those guys play against the Maori. The
Maori side is a good side.I think they got a shock when they saw the strength of the Maori side."

Wallaby coach Rod Macqueen was forced into picking the newcomers when
loosehead Bill Young withdrew injured.
Otherwise, Henry said the Wallabies were true to form.

"I think the Australian side was pretty much as expected really. There weren't many surprises," he said.

Henry also said he did not expect any problems with southern hemisphere
referees in Australia.

"We intend to talk to the referee for the game, hopefully the day prior, and we will make that policy throughout the tour," he said.

"It's important to have a discussion with the referees and talk about
interpretation, particularly the tackle area.

"The scrum will be an interesting part, too," he said. "But I'm not anticipating any problems."

Live Sports

Communication error please reload the page.

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices