0
Now dont laugh to hard at this boys and girls, i dont want to responsible for any rib injuries here
Woodcock exposed by Dunning
By Bret Harris
April 09, 2008
FORMER Australia prop Andrew Blades believes Matt Dunning may have exposed Blues front-rower Tony Woodcock as a "myth" during their battle in Sydney last Saturday.
Blades said the front-row contest may have said more about Woodcock than Dunning in New South Wales's big win.
Woodcock is regarded as one of the premier loosehead props in the world and has given Australia tightheads plenty of grief in recent years.
However, Blades suggested Woodcock was not as effective without former New Zealand front-row partners, Carl Hayman and Anton Oliver, who are playing in Europe.
"It showed Tony Woodcock up as a myth," Blades said. "He has been riding on the coat-tails of Carl Hayman and Anton Oliver. Without them he looked ordinary.
"It will be interesting to see if he gets exposed (when the Wallabies play the All Blacks)."
Woodcock is rated highly by Australia's front-row fraternity, especially the tightheads.
However, Woodcock uses his superior scrum technique selectively. He is known to go easy on an opponent for a few scrums and then catch him by surprise.
Certainly, Woodcock was severely compromised by not having any real power behind him in the Blues' front row against the Waratahs, which is something Dunning may discover when Wallabies lock Dan Vickerman heads overseas at the end of the season.
Dunning, the Wallabies' starting loosehead at the World Cup, has made the difficult transition to tighthead this season after playing most of his career on the other side of the scrum.
Blades agreed with Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie that Dunning's future lay at tighthead, but he was not yet the finished article.
"The hardest thing is to get your confidence," Blades said.
"You have to attack all of the time. If you get tentative, the difficulty is huge. If you don't attack, you get crucified."
Woodcock exposed by Dunning - Super 14 - Fox Sports