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Wallabies scrum coach Mike Cron has a simple wish for prop Taniela Tupou before his crucial outing for the Waratahs against the British and Irish Lions on Saturday evening: Learn to love the game again.
Tupou has battled inconsistent form and self-doubt for NSW this season, but the Wallabies’ scrum doctor believes the cure for the million-dollar prop lies not in devastating scrums and carries, but in playing with a smile on his face.
“I just think he’s really got to get back to really loving and enjoying the game that he has played for a long, long time,” Cron said. “Just get out there and be free – away you go, son, and show us what you got. That’s what I’d like to see.
“He’s actually reported this year that he’s had a few issues, and he’s been battling away, but hopefully he’s turned the corner and he can show us that on Saturday night.”
The match at Allianz Stadium will be Tupou’s last for NSW before a likely move to Racing 92 in France, and is the prop’s final opportunity to play himself into the Wallabies side for the Tests against the Lions.
After successive 50-point wins over the Force and the Reds, the Lions arrive in Sydney for the third match of their tour as heavy favourites.
If the weakened NSW side are to keep the scoreboard at Allianz Stadium respectable, unlocking Tupou’s potential is critical.
Cron spent 15 years working with the famed New Zealand scrum between 2004 and 2019, but rates Tupou as “the most explosive” prop he has ever coached.
“He can generate extreme power, explosive power, which not many players have to that limit, that capacity. He’s a very explosive young man,” Cron said.
“That’s probably his greatest attribute scrum-wise, and even when he gets the ball, he can actually scoot for a big man. He can cover the ground.”
Taniela Tupou at a Waratahs training session in Sydney, with scrum coach Mike Cron and Angus Bell.Credit: Rugby Australia
Cron has been impressed by the Force and Reds scrums against the Lions, despite two ultimately heavy defeats.
In Brisbane, the Lions’ front row was consistently penalised at the scrum, including for angling in illegally.
Cron consulted closely with referees during the 2023 World Cup and has been impressed with officials’ work on policing the dark arts of the scrum.
“I think you’ll find even in Super Rugby and even on the [Reds] game last night, the referees are actually policing that [angling illegally] pretty rigidly,” Cron said.
Taniela Tupou (left) at a Waratahs training session in Sydney on Thursday.Credit: Rugby Australia
“They may not get everyone, but I think they’re looking for that [angling illegally] very much. They’d like things to be square. Once you’re going forward, things can happen, it [the scrum] can roll one way or the other, but I think the referees are being very vigilant and hopefully they keep doing that.”
The Tests will be refereed by New Zealand’s Ben O’Keeffe (first test), Italy’s Andrea Piardi (second Test) and Georgia’s Nika Amashukeli (third Test). Cron is confident the difference in scrum interpretation between Northern and Southern Hemisphere referees is a thing of the past.
“They’re [referees] travelling all the time now, I think the only difference for them is time zone changes,” Cron said. “I think it’s pretty uniform, to be fair, within reason. I think it’s pretty good at the top level.”
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“We’re playing so many international games now, the refs know you inside and out. They’re getting coached all the time, they’re getting assessed. So I think in the old days maybe that was the case, [differences in interpretation], but I don’t think it is now.”
Cron and Schmidt are locked in Wallabies camp in Newcastle, but will be watching Saturday night’s match closely. The veteran coach is hoping that Tupou can make the most of his opportunity at Allianz Stadium.
“I just hope that he [Tupou] has a really good game on Saturday night, walks off having his family proud of his performance and comes off with his head held high ... that’s what you hope for. But hope’s one thing – you’ve got to go through it.”
All nine matches of The British & Irish Lions Tour to Australia are live & on demand on Stan Sport, with Wallabies Tests in 4K. All Test matches live and free on Channel 9 & 9Now.
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