Hibbard: Bring on scrum battle

Published: Tuesday, 12. March, 2013 in category Six Nations
Richard Hibbard: Ready for a set-piece battle

Richard Hibbard insists Wales are ready for a no-holds-barred scrum battle when they host England in a Grand Slam shoot-out on Saturday.

The hooker does not fear taking on Stuart Lancaster's unbeaten side at the Millennium Stadium and believes the encounter has every chance of living up to expectations.

Hibbard, 29, says the game could well be decided in the critical set-piece area and by who has the better pack on the night as his side look to stop England claiming their first Slam in a decade.

"You have got to have that little bit of fear going into the game," he said.

"If you don't, and you take things for granted, you will get absolutely destroyed. They (England) would be one of the better packs in the competition. They are well-drilled, like most English packs are.

"You just look at the league their players play in. Most teams want to get scrums in the Premiership, so it's going to be a good contest and a good scrum. The good thing is that both teams want to scrum. We want to see who is the strongest, rather than who is going to cheat the best.

"So it will be a real good contest, and with Steve Walsh refereeing, he does like a good contest. He will let the scrum go, so it will be a good battle. He likes a contest in the scrum and he likes to see who is really dominant. He doesn't want to be giving free-kicks."

The front-row meeting will include Hibbard's head-to-head with young England hooker Tom Youngs - or an experienced Dylan Hartley, if he is recalled and the Ospreys player added: "Whoever plays, it is going to be a tough contest.

"I played against Youngs earlier this season. He is a strong boy, but he's going to be, coming through at Leicester. You've got to have something about you.

"And he has got (Dan) Cole next to him, so yes, they will be a tough unit. It's going to be a long afternoon either way, but I am excited about it.

"It's a massive game, but I don't take anything individually. It's not going to be what I can do, but what I can do for the team in the lineouts and scrums and anywhere else, carrying some ball.

"Nothing changes for us. We have got to do exactly what we have been doing over the past few weeks, delivering our game-plan."