'Front row can emulate ‘Pooler predecessors'

Feb 8 2008 by Tim Lewis, Western Mail

LEGENDARY Wales No 8 Mervyn Davies admits he would love to see the Ospreys front row become as successful for Wales as their 1970s counterparts from Pontypool.

Davies (below) captained Wales during the dominant reign of the famous Pooler front row of Graham Price, Bobby Windsor and Charlie Faulkner.

The trio became known as one of the most feared front rows in world rugby and played as a unit in four championship seasons.

Now, the Ospreys threesome of Duncan Jones, Huw Bennett and Adam Jones will take the field against Scotland for the second consecutive game after going head-to-head with a highly-rated English trio at Twickenham.

And the 38-times capped Merve the Swerve said they will take a lot of confidence from Saturday’s shock win, Wales’ first at England HQ for 20 years.

Davies said, “Consistency of selection is good for the team and the players will be very happy to be going into their second game together.

“It let’s them know they did a good job against a very large English unit.

“The set-pieces worked well on the whole. Before the match against England I had concerns about how Wales would fare, but I thought they held their own very well.”

The celebrated Wales side of the 1970s was blessed with flair players behind the scrum, with the likes of Barry John, Gareth Edwards, JPR Williams, Phil Bennett, JJ Williams and Gerald Davies.

While those players often got all the plaudits for their outstanding point-scoring contributions, Davies remembers the front row were the foundations on which success was built.

“Everything stemmed from the front row,” explained the former British Lion.

“If they didn’t perform, then the second rows couldn’t do their jobs, the back row wouldn’t work and so on – it would be felt right throughout the team.

“The famous saying of the Pontypool boys would be that they would ‘go up or down but never back’. They were totally focused on their front-row work and would take it as a personal indignity if they couldn’t do their jobs.

“That’s the sort of attitude I would love to see from our boys now because they can inspire the rest of the team with it.”

But former No 8 Davies believes the dynamic of front-row play has changed a lot since he packed down behind Price, Windsor and Faulkner.

In those days, he said, players could get away with a lot more and referees did not scrutinise as closely as they do today.

Davies explained, “It used to be all about the individual battles, you had 80 minutes to go one-on-one against your opposite number.

“If you were good enough, you would be able to dominate them. Sometimes you would be able to do it from the start and other times it would take you 60 minutes or so to get on top.

“Eventually your opposite number would tire and you could use your strength to overcome them.

“Graham was world-class and had a lot more dimensions to his game than just being a prop. He was quick for a big man and had great skill.

“Bobby was always a very talented footballer who could throw the ball in well, was outstanding in the scrum and also had a never-say-die attitude on the field.

“Charlie was probably the least talented of the three, but he brought with him a hardness and aggression that enthused the team.

“These days the coaches can change the whole front row after an hour if they want, or bring individuals on to freshen up the scrum.

“I don’t think the emphasis is on front-row play like it used to be, the rules are very different from what I was used to and they are changing all the time.”

Warren Gatland’s ruthlessness should be enough to ensure the standard of Welsh performances are not allowed to slip.

Davies admits he has slight concerns over Ospreys hooker Huw Bennett’s size, but thinks he makes up for it if he is consistently hitting his jumpers in the line-out – something he feels is a must in the modern game.

“The coach is keeping a very close eye on the whole of the squad,” said Davies.

“We’ve already seen him drop the likes of Alix Popham – which I thought was a bit harsh as back-row forwards are the ones who have to dive on the ball. But it makes a statement, if you don’t do well, you will be dropped.

“There should be no excuse for the hooker not getting the ball on a sixpence from the line-out, they are professional players who practise it day in, day out.

“If we can get the set-pieces working well, we have the flair players behind to turn the game on its head.

“I wasn’t impressed with Scotland against the French and against Wales on their home ground I can’t see them getting a result.”