Andy Robinson says Scotland must win breakdown battle against Australia

Andy Robinson wants his men to target Dan Palmer.SNS Group

Scotland head coach Andy Robinson has called on his players to ‘create a bit of mayhem’ against Australia and get their summer tour off to the best possible start.

The Scots face the Wallabies in the Australian city of Newcastle with the breakdown identified as the key to winning the match.

Robinson’s men will need to stop new captain David Pocock and scrum-half Will Genia in their tracks.

And speaking ahead of the game, the coach says Ross Rennie and John Barclay will be vital to the visitors’ strategy.

He said: "We need to create a bit of mayhem there.

"We have to be really accurate inside our half, accurate defensively and accurate when we have got the ball.

"That means not getting turned over in our half - something that we did not do well in the Six Nations, where we turned a lot of ball over when we were carrying it. If we can do that, it puts us in a good position to put pressure on Australia.

"We have to contest the breakdown, that is why we are playing John Barclay at number eight.

"We have to put Australia under huge pressure in that area, we want to have a go at them, put pressure on Genia and slow Australia ball down. The only way to do that was playing Barclay and Ross Rennie together, who I think are our best two players over the ball.

"Obviously it is vital that Richie Gray and Ross Ford step up to the mark and carry the ball a lot. Ryan Grant is a good carrier too, a good footballer and we can bring Sean Lamont in off the wing while Matt Scott and Joe Ansbro can carry as well. We have got the carriers but they have to put a good shift in."

After a disappointing Six Nations campaign, Scotland are in desperate need of a confidence boost.

The predicted stormy weather is an element which could favour the tourists.

Of Scotland's approach, Robinson continued: "We have got to look at the set-piece. We have got to put the ball out of play and then look to put pressure on them. We need an accurate kicking game to do that - that has got to come first.

"Of course we have got to try to target their front five and get stuck into them.

"Ryan Grant [the uncapped Scotland loosehead prop] is a very good scrummager. He got his position in the Glasgow team at the end of the season because he was scrummaging so well.

"On their side, James Slipper [Australia's loosehead] is a good player, but the young lad on the tighthead [Dan Palmer] is somebody that we have got to get some change out of."

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