The combined British and Irish rugby squad might have emerged victorious in their series against the Aussies, but their unsettling third match defeat in Sydney left a bitter impression on supporters, with some players’ contributions sparking concerns.
One of those was the loosehead prop, Andrew Porter, whose scrumming style was again put under the microscope by online spectators. The position in which Ireland’s and Leinster’s 125kg prop engages in the scrum has often been questioned and criticized by followers, but these criticisms intensified following his third match performance against the Wallabies.
The 29-year-old was seemingly not favored by referee Nika Amashukeli’s decisions in the loss, yet fans online remain unimpressed by what he managed to get away with.
Shortly after the game, ‘Front Row Grunt’ disseminated an overhead image of Porter’s scrumming, highlighting his almost 90° angle drive, remarking: “Porter using his usual tactics again yesterday…. And what’s really surprising? The Aussies were the ones penalized in this scrum!”
Porter up to his normal tricks again yesterday…. And the most astonishing thing is? It was the Aussies who got penalised in this scrum! pic.twitter.com/UAVZ9p39fv
— Front Row Grunt (@FrontRowGrunt) August 3, 2025
This post elicited multiple concurring comments, with ‘Scrummaging Flyhalf’, who had also critiqued Porter’s scrumming in the second match online, stating “Not even Shane Warne managed that much turn in Australia!”
Former referee Nigel Owens did present a defense for the Irishman, stating: “While I’m not contradicting your view on this image, a proper assessment can only be made by observing the entire sequence in motion, not just a single still image.”
Numerous others circulated similar messages online, including ‘Scoop Rugby’, who posted: “I’m sorry but Andrew Porter on those aerial views is a f**ckn criminal for the way he binds down to scrum. WOW. And they are all in front of the referee!!!”
One supporter commented, “How Porter is permitted to scrummage at that angle is beyond my understanding. It should be penalized nearly every scrum,” while another added, “Andrew Porter would never secure a scrum if he were forced to scrum straight. Nika is allowing him to scrum skew just to move the ball.”
Porter was promptly substituted minutes into the second half of the deciding Test, replaced by Ellis Genge, who subsequently secured his own scrum penalty.
