Hayes is no mug – Jones (From Western Telegraph)

Hayes is no mug – Jones

9:50am Thursday 11th March 2010 in

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TIGHTHEAD prop Adam Jones gives short shrift to the suggestion that Ireland have a weakness at scrum time that Wales can exploit.

While Jones is talked about as one of the best scrummagers in the business, with a reputation enhanced by his powerful displays on the British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa, there are often question marks over his Irish counterpart.

John Hayes will win his 101st cap at Croke Park yet he is often written off for his set-piece prowess.

At 6ft 4ins, the Munster tighthead is far from the ideal height from a prop and struggles to get the big first hit in that his smaller rivals can.

Yet Jones knows from experience that Saturday will not be a walk in the park for the Welsh front row.

He said: “People always talk about the Irish scrum being weak and it isn’t the case, every year I am asked whether they will struggle. I have seen many teams put them under real pressure there, so they are doing something right.

“They scrummaged pretty well against England and Hayes has 100 caps, so he isn’t a mug.

“He is a big huge fella and you have (locks) Paul O’Connell and Donncha O’Callaghan behind him and Cian Healy, on the loosehead, is young but has played in a Heineken Cup final.

“A lot of people think the Irish pack are mugs, but I can tell you they are not. Like any side they may have bad days at the office but they are not the weakness everybody seems to think they are.”

In fact, Jones believes it is Wales who are under pressure to perform at scrum time after a faltering display in defeat to France last time out.

“It was tough against France,” he admitted. “We have sat down and talked about that and we know we didn’t do ourselves justice in that game.

“We all weren’t quite pushing in the same direction, which sound stupid, but it can happen in the scrum.

“People were doing individual things and any prop or forwards coach will tell you that you have to be doing the same thing in the scrum for it to be effective.

“It has to be the eight of us together and against a team like Ireland we have to put that right. We know what we have to do to put that right and we are working hard on doing that.”