The day Grizz gave pack a monstering

T’S A shame fly on the wall sports documentaries weren’t a thing back in the 1980s because, as a result, we have been denied concrete evidence of the only scrummaging session at training that realistically mattered. An infamous beasting that Jim Telfer inflicted on the 1997 Lions in Pretoria.

- BRENDAN GALLAGHER

On that occasion you will recall the assistant Lions coach stormed by the way in which Western Province had manhandled the Lions scrum three days earlier, set the Rhino scrum machine at 2.5 tonnes and inflicted 43 unforgiving scrums in just over 30 minutes on his new-look, prospective Test pack, with the late Tom Smith and Paul Wallace parachuted into the front row. And just to crank everything up a bit every third scrum or so he would make the lads sprint 10 or so yards of tackles bags 10 yards away to put in a few big hits before dragging themselves back to the scrum.

It is acknowledged as the mother of all scrummaging sessions but fast forward 10 years earlier to New Zealand - with Alex ‘Grizz’ Wyllie cracking the whip a la Telfer as New Zealand’s assistant coach, endured much the same on the eve of their World Cup quarter-final against Scotland. Wyllie, a legendary and occasionally controversial Rugby figure, died earlier this week aged 80.

The issue back in 1987 was that New Zealand, who had only come away with a 21-25 draw the last time they played Scotland in 1983, had scarcely been required to scrum at all in any of their World Cup pool games. They ran Italy ragged (70-6), annihilated Fiji (74-13) and only in the opening stages of their final group game, against Argentina, was there a scrum worthy of the name. The Pumas soon succumbed, losing 46-15 to the all singing and all dancing All Blacks.

Wyllie was anxious. He had a healthy regard for Scotland generally and the Scotland pack in particular - Iain ‘the Bear’ Milne, Colin Deans, a young David Sole, Alan Tomes, John Jeffrey, Finlay Calder, John Beattie, Gary Paxton et al - and feared that was a pack that could damage New Zealand in the tight.