News

Dunning ready to rumble in Durban

August 22 2008

On the eve of Australia's departure for Durban and the make-or-break Tri-Nations clash with the Springboks on Saturday, Planet Rugby was on hand to catch Wallaby prop Matt Dunning's thoughts on playing the "Beast" on his home ground, the improvements in the Australia's scrum and that topic that never fails to spark a debate - the ELVs.

Speaking of 'beasts', Dunning is one of a rare breed of prop forwards able to string his comments together with a certain amount of eloquence and friendliness that belie his 1.82m, 115kg frame.

With 37 Test Caps to his name, Dunning has been around the block once or twice and as a stalwart of the Wallaby front row, has seen props come and go.

One prop Dunning reckons is here to stay is his scrumming opposition on Saturday, Tendai 'the Beast' Mtawarira. Judging by last weekend's performance, the Wallaby front-rower is expecting a tough encounter against the Springbok heavyweights.

"[The Springboks] did very well (in Cape Town). The All Black scrum is one of the best in the world and the Springboks scrummed exceptionally well," said Dunning.

"They definitely seemed to have improved their technique since we played them last. The Beast and CJ (van der Linde) looked exceptional."

Talking of improving scrumming technique, the Wallaby pack has done some improving of their own over the past few months. Echoing the comments earlier this week of colleague Al Baxter, Dunning attributed much of the improvement to the efforts of the man who will be joining him at the Waratahs next year, scrumming guru and forwards coach, Michael Foley.

"We're a lot more technical, we do a lot more work [on our scrums] with full-time coach Michael Foley," he said.

"I think he's been exceptional for me, I couldn't have moved from loosehead to tighthead this year, which isn't an easy task, without his tutelage so I've got a lot of respect for Michael.

"I'd been playing mainly loosehead up until the start of this year's Super 14, there was a void that needed to be filled in New South Wales and Michael thought that I had the makings of a good tighthead. It's something that I'm enjoying, it's a new challenge. I think it's definitely a bit harder come scrum time, but I'm enjoying it.

"[At the Waratahs] we had pretty good use of him last year. He'd come in one day a week or so but now to have him full-time is fantastic from a scrumming point of view, and he's excellent come line-out time."

Australian props have come in for some harsh criticism in South Africa in recent years, but Dunning says the chirps and jibes of the past won't be a source of extra motivation on Saturday.

"I don't think there's any more motivation in Test football than the game itself - winning the game and performing and being formidable," said the 29-year-old.

"Some of that criticism was probably well justified so we're just working hard at the moment to rectify that.

"In this Tri-Nations it's been going fairly well, the scrums have been fairly solid. Al Baxter's done an exceptional job and now I've got a chance to hopefully add to that."

"Come scrum time [Baxter] has met the challenges of whoever he's faced. I think he's also done more than that in a lot of the games - aerobically round the paddock he's been a fantastic athlete.

"So I was surprised at a run, but Robbie [Deans] has asked me to get out there and be combative and scrum well, so I've just gotta get out there and perform," Dunning added.

And what of "the Beast"? Dunning spoke highly of the Zimbabwean-born Springbok, who he thinks has all the attributes needed of a modern prop.

"He's an excellent scrummager and an excellent player. He's a very powerful, explosive man, you've seen how fast he is. He's definitely fun to watch out wide. I hopefully won't have to match up to him on the wing!" quirked the Wallaby prop.

"Beast is definitely a mobile player so the new rules definitely suit him."

An Australian, mentioning the new rules? Perish the thought! Contrary to the beliefs of many North of the equator, Dunning thinks scrums are more important than ever under the ELVs.

"[Under the ELVs] the scrum ball is a massive attacking platform because there's ten metres between the back-lines. So if you're not getting quality ball you're really cutting down a lot of your primary possession," he explained.

"So a solid scrum is a massive attacking weapon, especially for South Africa, who score a lot of tries from first phase."

And the man who's been the butt of a hundred doughnut jokes added that the quicker game brought about by the ELVs has made fitness even more important.

"With the ball in play more it's obviously a faster game. I think its not only fitness, you've got to be smart," he said.

"You can't just keep chasing the ball, otherwise you just don't do anything, you just run around. So you've got to be a bit smarter and bit more deliberate in what you do.

"I think it's better for the game. It's definitely better to watch. Back home in Australia a lot of my mates are not Rugby Union people per se, and they love the new rules. They don't mind the ball being kicked, as long as the ball is in play and it's alive.

"If that's going to get more people watching the game and if we can still keep the ethos of a contest at the set piece I think we've got a great product."

By Ross Hastie