Wallabies prop Allan Alaalatoa is hoping they can pick up where they left off scrum-wise as they brace for the elements against the British & Irish Lions in Melbourne.
A wet second Test is expected at the MCG, with rain forecast for the majority of Saturday.
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It lends to the idea that the scrum will be a massive factor in the game, one of the main areas in which the Wallabies achieved dominance in the opening Test.
They won two scrum penalties and a short arm penalty, with Alaalatoa praising the work of scrum coach Mike Cron in turning it into a weapon.
“Throughout the growth of the group last year, you could really see the improvement of our back five and the way that they're able to transfer their weight through to the front row,” he told reporters.
“I think for me being up at the front, you can really feel that change and that consistency and it probably does come from the quality of coaching that we've had and the simple messaging, but a clear understanding from the boys as well on how we can improve throughout that scrum set-piece.
“I think from where we were this time last year, there's been a massive growth around that so I think for us it's just to continue to take that forward and have plenty of belief in our scrum.”
Alaalatoa and the Wallabies got a perfect taste of the conditions during training on Tuesday, ready to adapt to whatever is thrown at them.
“As a forward pack, we have to expect [plenty of scrums] with the forecast coming,” he admits.
“The preparation today in the rain is perfect for us to understand and how we want to play around the field, but understanding that the set-piece is going to be important.”
The veteran prop could sense the confidence growing in the side after a promising second half, ready to transfer that into preparation for a must-win match.
“ I think walking off that field, I could tell that there was plenty of confidence in the group,” he added.
“I think for us as players it was to understand what allowed us to get that ascendancy in the second half, to give ourselves that opportunity to be down their end. I think it really came down to being probably more accurate in that second half than we were in that first half.
“So those are good learnings for us and things that we've applied straight away in training.”
