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Home / Rugby

Three quick lessons we can already take from the full-on scrum session between England and Wales 

NZ Herald
6 Nov, 2017 06:15 PM3 mins to read

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England and Wales take part in a training session. Photo / @BrisVADAR

England and Wales take part in a training session. Photo / @BrisVADAR

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England head coach Eddie Jones publicly urged his players to 'rip into' their Welsh counterparts, while his skipper Dylan Hartley conceded that he was expecting some 'edge' at yesterday's set-piece training session in Bristol.

You cannot imagine that Warren Gatland, nor indeed his forwards coach Robin Mcbryde, will have suggested that the Wales pack hold anything back. Both sides are going to need a solid platform during the autumn internationals.

The plan had been to include around 12 scrums and 15 lineouts with Nigel Owens, fresh from officiating Saturday's tussle between New Zealand and the Barbarians, overseeing matters.

Unfortunately, no media were invited. However, a couple of tweets from the Clifton College grounds might have provided some surreptitious insight.

1. England have a lot of power on the loosehead side

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This 15-second clip, clearly captured from behind the barriers aiming to obscure the playing surface, shows a surging shove from England that decimates Wales' tighthead side:

Intense training from here in Bristol today!! @RugbyEng & @RugbyWal packs going at it FULL ON!! #RugbyUnited pic.twitter.com/wK7m5ekLUV

— 𝙰𝚗𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚠 𝙲𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚛 (@BrisVADAR) November 6, 2017

Given Joe Marler is suspended for Argentina the start of the autumn campaign, this is an encouraging sign for England. Although the footage is too blurry to confirm for certain, it seems highly likely that one of Mako Vunipola or Ellis Genge - both of whom have improved their scrumagging markedly over the past two seasons - is at loosehead.

A brisk blast of Owens' whistle brings the action to a close with Wales sliding backwards. Whether the referee might have spotted some illegal manoeuvre is another issue. The push does come at an interesting angle.

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2. Chris Robshaw might be covering number eight

According to a press release from the RFU last night, Sam Simmonds was not part of group that travelled to Clifton. As Steve Borthwick revealed out in Portugal last week, the young Exeter Chief arrived at his maiden England camp with a slight shoulder issue.
Squint at the above video and you will see Chris Robshaw anchoring the England scrum. Does this mean the experienced Harlequin will be the go-to man in case of an injury to Nathan Hughes?

3. Everyone is friends again

This upcoming feature from the Welsh Rugby Union, teased with the tweet below, will be well worth a watch:

Session has finished here in Bristol. WRU TV piece with Robin McBryde coming shortly pic.twitter.com/l4Y9EyJe3C

— Welsh Rugby Union 🏉 (@WelshRugbyUnion) November 6, 2017

The snap also tells us that everything was finished by 11.24am and - from the scenes over McBryde's left shoulder - there has not been a punch-up too intense to ruin existing friendships.

In the middle there, British and Irish Lions Taulupe Faletau, Mako Vunipola and Rhys Webb are chatting away. Exeter Chiefs colleagues Tomas Francis and Harry Williams could well be discussing Great British Bake Off spoilers on the right.

Meanwhile, Sam Underhill appears to be looking for former Ospreys mates to catch up with. Either that, or Alun Wyn Jones - behind McBryde's right ear - has scared him off.

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