Australia prop Al Baxter has praised coach Robbie Deans for his role in improving the Wallabies' forward play, ahead of the Test match against France here on Saturday.

Kiwi Deans took over the reins in December last year, and despite mixed results in the Tri Nations over the summer, Baxter believes his philosophy has greatly improved the effectiveness of Australia's pack.

"He's given us a lot more freedom," said Baxter. "He's all about bringing your own skills and strengths to the game and using them, as opposed to playing under a formula or doing what someone else thinks you should do.

"It's allowed a lot of guys who previously weren't running with the ball or looking for big tackles to do that, because that's what they enjoy doing and that's what their strengths are."

Deans' arrival also led to an increased focus on the scrum, with Baxter revealing that the Wallabies had no dedicated scrum coach until specialist forward coaches Michael Foley and Jim Williams joined the set-up.

"Under previous coaches we've had, it was seen as a re-start to play as opposed to a contest, whereas certainly in the northern hemisphere it's seen more as a genuine contest," says Baxter.

The strength of the Wallabies scrum was evident last weekend in the 28-14 win over England at Twickenham, but Baxter says his colleagues in the front eight cannot afford to get carried away with the praise heaped upon them following that success.

"We have more confidence in our scrum now but we certainly don't take any game for granted," he said. "We know the French are a very proud scrummaging nation and have a good scrum, so it's going to be just as tough for us this weekend as last week."

One key component of the French scrum is talismanic forward Sebastien Chabal, recalled to the side after starting from the bench in their 42-17 win against the Pacific Islanders in Montbeliard last weekend.

Baxter likens Chabal to All Blacks captain Richie McCaw and Springboks flanker Schalk Burger in terms of his capacity to influence his team-mates, but believes the Wallabies cannot afford to worry about him too much.

"If you fully concentrate on Sebastien Chabal you forget about a lot of other fine players they have in the team.

"We'll certainly be making sure we try and look after him but if we fully focus on him then their other players shine and you're in trouble."

AFP

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