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Hibbard ready to scrum on

Hibbard ready to scrum on

Richard Hibbard reckons the Welsh scrum can serve as a major weapon in the RBS 6 Nations clash with Scotland.

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The Welsh pack were unstoppable in Rome with a dominant scrum laying the foundations for the 26-9 victory over Italy.

Hibbard was thrilled with the scrummaging performance and he insists the Welsh eight will not take a backwards step.

“The boys were very happy with how the scrum went,” said the Ospreys hooker.

“They are renowned for their good scrum and I thought we took that platform away from them.

“We did a lot of work in the week knowing it would be one of their strengths so we were very happy indeed.

“The scrum is always down to the referee’s opinion I suppose, but we showed how positive we were. We wanted to scrum
and we showed the referee we were the dominant scrum.

“It was a great effort from the whole pack. We just kept at them and putting them under pressure.

“Eventually we knew it would give and we reaped the rewards towards the end at the scrum and around the pitch.”

Scotland defied the odds to beat Ireland at Murrayfield. Declan Kidney’s men dominated territory and possession but were unable to put points on the board

And Hibbard expects another fiercely committed performance from Wales’ Celtic cousins.

 “It was interesting how they got the win against Ireland,” said Hibbard.

“If you read all the stats they shouldn’t have won, but they did, largely because of their attitude. We know it will be tough
up there.

“They seem very well-drilled at their set-piece. Their scrum is really good and they are very quick out of the blocks.

“They haven’t struggled against anyone yet so it will be an interesting battle.

“Our lineout was a bit messy in Rome, a bit scrappy.

“Mind you, it doesn’t help having to chase ball boys 30 metres to get balls and then have them roll them to you.

“In all seriousness, it didn’t go as well as we wanted it to go, but hopefully we will improve on that.

“Their lineout is very good. They are tall boys and they compete hard.

“You want to back your own drill. We know it is good enough to win the ball anywhere we want.

“We are not going to change too much, just back ourselves.”

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