'Black and white': Schmidt defends Wallabies' scrum integrity

Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has staunchly defended his side's integrity, after a South African report alleged the Springboks had requested that World Rugby investigate the injuries that forced Australia into uncontested scrums during the Rugby Championship clash in Perth.

While confusion surrounds whether South Africa Rugby has indeed submitted that request, Schmidt said Australia had shared no dialogue with World Rugby over the issue.

Speaking after announcing his team to face the Pumas in Santa Fe early Sunday morning [AEST], Schmidt outlined the sequence of events that saw Australia lose three props to injury or head knocks and why they were not required to drop to 14 players, despite initial confusion that saw the Wallabies do just that.

"I think that was pretty evident against Los Pumas, I thought the scrum was one of the strong points in our game and it gave us a couple of access points that were sorely needed in the game," Schmidt said when asked about the allegation.

"Angus Bell came off both for blood and for injury and so once you have substituted a player for injury, they cannot return to the field of play; you can substitute them and a front-row player can return to the game or any player can return for blood or a head injury, and we had two head injuries that were assessed by an independent medical doctor, who I'm sure wouldn't appreciate anyone questioning their independence.

"I think in the game we conceded three maul tries, we didn't have our big men to combat those mauls so it's not like anything that we wanted to have happen, but player welfare is paramount. And when players are injured, particularly those two head injuries that we had in the second half, that the protocols for head injury assessments are followed; they both failed their HIA2 and their HIA3 as well.

"As far as I know there has been no formal enquiry made to World Rugby, certainly nothing that World Rugby have come back to us with and nothing that they have said they felt was untoward."

Asked whether comments from former Springbok captain Jean de Villiers and current lock Lood de Jager, in which the duo all but accused Australia of cheating, were out line, Schmidt issued a diplomatic response.

"It's someone's prerogative if that's what they believe, we all questions things from a far at times and particularly when we're not abreast of the valid information," Schmidt said. "But the information is black and white, there was a clear injury to Angus Bell in the first half, he was removed at halftime. And the two injuries in the second half, in coaching over 100 Test matches I've never had that happen before, it's not like it happens very often.

"But we were certainly disadvantaged by it, because we didn't get the opportunity to have our big men combatting the maul, and there were three maul tries in the second half and in the end that caused the scoreboard separation at the end of the game."

Wallabies prop Allan Alaalatoa earlier this week also defended his set-piece, insisting the Wallabies want to scrum.

"Do they think I was trying to fake an HIA or something?" Alaalatoa responded when asked about the report.

"Mate, we want to scrum. That's what we want to do. Especially as front-rowers and that's a game where you want to take on that challenge. You don't want to shy away from that.

"We're at a stage in our team where we want to keep growing and keep fronting up against the best, so you never want to shy away from that."

The allegations were fuelled on South African rugby podcast The Verdict the week following the Springboks 30-12 win in Perth, with injured Boks' lock De Jager questioning the injuries alongside host and former centre De Villiers, before the SARU made its request on Monday.

"That's the first I've heard of that," Alaalatoa said. "But what I do know is that if someone comes off injured, and then we have HIA like we did on the weekend for myself and Slips [Slipper], then my understanding is that they can't return back to the field.

"I remember Joe [Schmidt] at the end of that game saying he's never been a part of that game where things like that have happened, and I don't think I have as well.

"That's all I know."