There has been a definitive positional battle dominating the mid-week media, as the front row was an area of high discussion after the first Test in Dunedin. England were putting the All Blacks under tough pressure at scrum-time, with the likes of Will Stuart, Joe Marler and exciting debutant Fin Baxter forcing New Zealand’s props Ethan de Groot and Tyrel Lomax under plenty of pressure.
The first half witnessed Stuart take De Groot to scrummaging school, as the Highlanders loose-head popped up at the scrum time and again. Then just 20 minutes into the match, England’s veteran loose-head Joe Marler left the pitch with a severe foot injury, after a scrummaging drive sent a pack’s worth of pressure through his planted foot. Marler left ruing his opposite prop Tyrel Lomax as he supports himself with a crutch, whilst his Harlequins protoge Fin Baxter steps up to centre stage.
The New Zealand scrummaging was not always penalised by the match officials, with many possible penalty offences slipping under the radar. The likes of former Wales prop Adam Jones, and ex-England front rowers David Flatman and Brian Moore all expressed their displeasure upon how the scrum was managed in the home of the Highlanders, with hopes for a stricter contest at Eden Park.
Lomax shared his thoughts on the front-row discussion, and was impressed by England debutant Fin Baxter, who stepped up after the first half injury to Joe Marler.
“They got a couple of penalties early on, it took us a while to adapt to that. Some of the pictures that they were showing, but we’ve definitely worked on it this week and just respected them (England) with good prep in that area that we want to attack this weekend.”
“I thought he (Fin Baxter) went well, for a 22 year old to make his debut for 60 minutes. I thought he played really well.”
“We spoke about him at halftime, he was a guy that came on and he really wanted to scrum. So he tried to pinch pressure on us, got a bit more of an even hit when he was on, I guess that was another way that he took the ref out of the game.”
The ‘Eden Park factor’ has steadily become a trademarked element ahead of this Saturday, as the All Blacks put their 30-year record of dominance on the line against England. The last time New Zealand lost at the Auckland stadium was against France in July 1994, with three decades of success culminating in Saturday’s Test.
Whilst the England players and coaches have all acknowledged the Eden Park record, they are not putting an important emphasis upon the long-standing streak. However, the All Blacks have made it no secret that they are out to protect their historic tally of triumphs, with New Zealand prop Tyrel Lomax the latest to discuss the Eden Park ‘fortress.’ Speaking in a pre-match media session ahead of the second Test against England, Lomax shared his view on the record;
“I guess definitely, when we try to treat that as as our fortress, we haven’t lost there in a long time. It’s just about I guess respecting the teams that have gone before us.”
“Yes and no, I guess we’re not putting pressure on ourselves in that aspect (with the streak) we are just wanting to get up there and put on a really good performance for our fans.”
“I guess it’s just putting the onus on the individual to come in and now your role, whether it’s your starter, you’re a finisher or someone who’s not on the 23 Just put your best foot forward.”