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‘Springboks will deny it’ – Sir Steve Hansen’s take on All Blacks’ scrum accusations as ex-Wallabies boss rubbishes claims Ewen McKenzie does not buy the All Blacks’ accusation that the Springboks are walking around in the scrums, while Sir Steve Hansen has also weighed in on the topic. Dave Rennie sparked the debate after the first Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Test match at Ellis Park and doubled down on the take following defeat in the second meeting in Cape Town. His comments irked Rassie Erasmus, with the Springboks boss lashing out at the post-match press conference, using explicit language in his response. South Africa’s scrum coach Daan Human was similarly annoyed by the claim that his forward pack was ‘walking around’ at scrum time, stating that he only coaches fair and legal tactics. Sir Steve Hansen’s take on the scrum debate The set-piece has been a hot debate throughout the series, and 2015 Rugby World Cup-winning coach Hansen has now weighed in. “I don’t know. I don’t think any team scrum’s straight,” he said when asked about the claims on the Rugby Unity podcast. “So they’ll deny it, and the All Blacks will say they are. So, what does it matter what we think? It’s all about the referee, really, and what he’s thinking. The rules do say you’ve got to stay square.” While Hansen states that the respective front rows need to stay square and straight, former Wallabies prop and coach McKenzie states that it’s not actually possible. Springboks scrum guru rejects All Blacks accusations as he insists ‘I can’t ever cheat’ Ex-Wallabies prop: “I haven’t seen that” Still, he hasn’t seen the Springboks walking around in the scrums but has aired his grievances in the way the set-piece is being officiated in the series so far. “So, physics still tells you it’s going to pivot. Like theoretically, the way they line up naturally, physics will tell you that, but I haven’t seen anything,” he explained. “I’ve watched the games. I haven’t seen that. I’ve seen some powerful scrums, but I haven’t seen what I’d call obvious walking around or pulling away. I think the referee said in one of the games that it was pulling away, in the Argentine game, pulling back or something like that. “They’re all things that happen in scrums – these days, it’s just a pushing contest. So, it’s very subtle, it’s up to the referee and it’s all very managed. So, it’s been a storm in a teacup from my perspective. “From a coaching point of view, you want the ball to come out of the scrum. So I’m annoyed that when the referee gets involved and turns scrums into free kicks before the scrum even engages, what we want to see is the ball go in, the ball come out, and play from it. “That’s what the All Blacks have been able to do in a couple of good halves of footy: have a stable platform, get the ball out and play from it, and they’ve actually scored tries directly from that.” Rassie’s late changes didn’t gain an advantage McKenzie also weighed in on Erasmus’ decision to change his starting front-row just an hour before kick-off of the second Test in the Mother City. He says that if it was a ploy to gain an advantage, it didn’t work as the two stronger front-rows ended up scrummaging against one another in the second half anyway. Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust. “So all this hurrah about the front-rows and this swapping the front-row, I couldn’t see any tactical advantage in what Rassie did last week,” he continued. “All he did was put his theoretically best front-row up against what I think is the best scrummaging front-row for the All Blacks in the second half. So they had the best front-rows playing each other in the second half. There’s one scrum that spewed out the left. Other than that, the platforms are pretty stable. So you know, move on.” READ MORE: Sir Steve Hansen’s damning verdict on Rassie Erasmus’ selection antics: ‘Name it when you can’