Cam, point taken about my comments on the scrum, I should have stated that in the past couple of years the Boks have always had a better scrum than us and that we now hold our own. And I was at Suncorp for the game, maybe the tears of joy blinded me too much to see what was going on.

And yes when your team is consistently playing s@&t rugby you tend to hang on too single elements of the game as they are the little points of light in a very dark tunnel.

In addition, when it comes to common traits it is a bit rich copping any sort of criticism from an AB supporter considering the amount of whingeing that has been coming out of the AB camp of late. What excuse will we be hearing when they next come under pressure. Forward passes, food poisoning, the dingo ate our line out calls, blah, blah, splutter, choke, choke.

Bear was this the same Wallaby scrum that got dismantled in Wellington by chance?? Hmmmm I beleave it was. You did get better but you only held parity for the remaining matches as well. It seems to be such a common trait with the Aussie media and supporters at the moment to latch on to 1 off displays or brief moments of excellence, blow it out of all proportion and then watch it crumble. How bout you wait till you actually DO have a world beating scrum and then start sqawking about it. Your close but your scrum aint better than the AB's...... yet.

You did however conssistantly outperform the Bok scrum and as you rate them above the Wallabies I can only conclude you either don't know much about scrums or you didn't watch the games.

I am completely with Anton #132...if you read the article you will completely understand where some of the comments are coming from....Paddy O'Brien is a kiwi..that's why I feel he should do the same for other teams as he did for the AB's...and those who say that he is more harsher with the AB's than any other team than I suggest you go and read the article http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/591034

We got completely fool! We're not in rugby, it is so clear.... Only because there was italian team...if we were a "politically stronger" team we have had a penalty try! Scandalous Henry, scandalous O'Brien! No more words to describe that shame referee! We wait SA scrum too...we'll show our supremacy

Warren I'm afraid your deluding yourself. Yes the Wallaby scrum has improved and it certainly isn't the glaring weak point it once was. However it certainly isn't an area where you are dominating other teams with the possible exception of John Smit lead SA front row (To all you saffa's out there.... WHY DO YOU HAVE A HOOKER PLAYING PROP?????. You are very close to gaining parity with the AB's but a few big scrums at the back end of a match doesn't quite count.

I am very impressed with Alexander especially how he bounced back from the dealing too he copped from Woodcock in Wellington. But like I say your close but not quite

Why dont you look at this link to see the same amount of consistency from Paddys refs as his own consistency. 180 Degree turn around. http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/591034

In addition to my last. If the AB Scrum problems were all related to the Aussie Referee, and Paddy O'Brien has apologised and assured all and sundry that it won't happen again, then why oh why has Henry chosen a new front row for the game against the Poms, if there is nothing wrong with the mob that got crushed by the Italians.

Thanks Keith for picking me up on that. Don't I feel a wee bit silly (proof reading required).

Ben, I may be deluded (probably from all the excitement of Australia finally having a decent scrum), but I know this, the current Wallaby Scrum would push the current AB Scrum clean off the field, up into the stands and tip them over the back of the stadium onto the concourse. Dependant of course on whether the AB don't turn it or collapse it in an effort to relieve the pressure (as they did in my opinion about half the time in the game against the Italians)

Only the Bokke have a better scrum than us and if memory serves we held our own at Suncorp. And we mixed it pretty good with the English too, so I stand by my original comment.

Ok, I am not reading all the post here, but just this: sometimes when people complain about the referee, whether it be SA, NZ or whoever, just sometimes there is merit in their complaints. Just remember this next time before dissing someone for complaining. Glad the IRB finally said something. I think it is preposterous the way some things are being handles and the inconsistency between different officials!

Ben #118, you seriously believe the Wallaby scrum is weak? The Wallaby scrum has either held its own or more often than not been dominant over the best sides in world rugby over the last six months. The change was evident as soon as Baxter was dropped. If anything Ben assuming you are an AB supporter? I would be worried about the decline of the AB scrum as it certainly isn't the force it once was. Cheers