Experts including Telegraph Sport columnist Brian Moore, TV commentator David Flatman and Harlequins scrum coach Adam Jones have questioned the legality of All Blacks loosehead Ethan de Groot’s actions during New Zealand’s 16-15 first test win in Dunedin. Moore wrote that “Ethan de Groot illegally moved outside Will Stuart and then moved straight up,” which helped New Zealand gain an advantage in the scrum.
England have since received feedback from World Rugby regarding the scrums, and England manager Steve Borthwick will speak to referee Nick Berry in a scheduled call this evening to air his concerns. “It’s pretty clear what people are saying, it’s pretty clear, we’ve had good feedback from World Rugby about their views,” captain Jamie George said. “I’m confident Nick Berry will get the right decisions this weekend.
“Looking back, I think we could have done better to get into the contest sooner, but at the same time, we need to control what we can control. That’s the main takeaway. To that end, we talked about being aggressive, physical and confrontational. That’s what we have to make sure we do. Technically, as a front row, there are things we can do to make the picture clearer, so we’ve been focused on that.”
Berry was assistant referee at Forsyth Barr Stadium last week and while Borthwick has tried not to criticise the referee, he will be seeking a clear view on the scrum dispute. “We will be asking him what he saw in the game this weekend and what he thinks about it,” Borthwick said. “Obviously the scrum is one of the areas we will be asking for his view on. We will ask Nick Berry’s view and of course we will present and discuss what we saw. That’s the approach we always take with referees.”
Asked about the misconduct allegations against de Groot, All Blacks coach Scott Robertson said: “Look, I think we need to be better in the photo. Can both sides discuss that? We’ve worked on that this week.”
Baxter made his debut after Marler sustained a leg injury 17 minutes into the first Test at Forsyth Barr Stadium but George said he did not look out of place in the Test arena. “What was impressive was the calm with which he took it all,” George said. “It was a difficult situation. We were under pressure in the scrum when Joe went off and for a 22-year-old it was quite daunting to come on. I thought take it easy and I’ll take it easy. He went all out. What was most impressive was how strong his scrum was. He’s a very strong kid and has a big future in the game. His work rate, the way he moves on the field was very impressive.”