England seek clarity over New Zealand scrums from World Rugby as team named to face All Blacks

Experts including Telegraph Sport columnist Brian Moore, television commentator David Flatman and Harlequins scrum coach Adam Jones have questioned the legality of an action by All Blacks loosehead Ethan de Groot in the first Test, which New Zealand won 16-15 in Dunedin. Moore wrote that “Ethan de Groot illegally moved outside Will Stuart and drove straight up”, which helped New Zealand gain the upper hand at the scrum.

England have now received feedback from World Rugby about the scrum and head coach Steve Borthwick will speak to referee Nic Berry in a scheduled meeting to address their concerns. “What people have said is there and pretty clear to see and we’ve had some good feedback from World Rugby about what their views were on it,” said captain Jamie George. “I think we’re confident that Nic Berry will make sure he makes the right decision this weekend.

“Looking back, I think we can do a better job to get to the game quicker, but at the same time we have to control what we can control. That’s the main point. In that, we talked about being aggressive, physical and confrontational. That’s what we have to do. Technically, as a front row, there are things we can do to make sure the pictures are clearer, so that’s what we focused on.”

Berry was an assistant referee at Forsyth Barr Stadium last week and while Borthwick was careful not to criticise the officiating, he is keen to get some clarity on the scrum. “We will ask him about the areas he has seen and what his view is going to be on the game this weekend,” Borthwick said. “Obviously the scrum is one of the areas we will be asking his opinion on. We will get Nic Berry’s perspective and we will obviously put forward what we have seen and have a conversation. That is the approach we always have with the officials.”

Asked about the allegations of illegality against De Groot, All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson replied: “Look, I think we’ve got to be better in some shots. Both parties can have that conversation, right? We’ve been working on it this week.”

Baxter made his debut 17 minutes into the first Test match at Forsyth Barr Stadium after Marler suffered a foot injury. George said he didn’t look out of place in the Test arena.

“What impressed me was how he took it all in his stride,” George said. “It’s a tough situation, we were under pressure in the scrum when Joe came off and for him to come on as a 22-year-old can be quite daunting. You can sit back and think, ‘I’m going to take this easy’. He threw himself into it. What impressed me most was his strong scrum skills. He’s a really strong kid and has a big future in this game. His work index, the way he moved around the field, was really impressive.”