Lynagh Sees Rays Of Hope

Sun Herald

Sunday December 11, 2005

By AHMER KHOKHAR

ALTHOUGH the injury-hit Wallabies have just endured one of their worst runs in recent memory, former great Michael Lynagh believes they still have the firepower to beat the best.

"Australia have been suffering a difficult time all year with injuries and players struggling for form," said Lynagh, who scored 911 points during a 72-cap career. "England were in a similar situation until they started beating the Tri Nations sides before their World Cup triumph."

Australia ended their seven-game losing streak with a relatively comfortable 30-14 win over Ireland in Dublin last month. But they again looked vulnerable up front and had to rely on some scintillating running from Chris Latham and Drew Mitchell to pull them through.

"The Wallabies' scrum has come under a lot of scrutiny, especially after the England game, and it is an element of the problem," Lynagh said. "But it does not mean you can't compete in games.

"We have very talented backs with a few young kids coming through.

"Drew Mitchell is from the same club [University of Queensland] as me back home and guys there have been telling me about him for the last few years and how much of a talented a player he is.

"It is nice to see Chris Latham playing so well after being around for a long time, and Mat Rogers has gone well at five-eighth."

Despite his optimism, Lynagh insists the Wallabies will struggle to compete without making major changes to their suspect pack.

"We have tried to play this phase game where we recycle ball very quickly, but we are not committing opposition forwards so our backs don't get a fair chance," he said.

"Teams like the All Blacks have moved on and realised after England won the World Cup that you need to have a big pack and dominate teams up front.

"Until we can be a combative force up front we are going to struggle against the better teams."

© 2005 Sun Herald

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