Torrid encounters with two French packs has taught developing Wallabies prop Tom Robertson that scrummaging is the biggest part of his rugby education.
Rated one of Australia's best young front-rowers, 22-year-old Waratah Robinson enjoyed a rapid rise through the ranks last year.
He made the first of seven Test appearances off the bench against Argentina in Perth, barely four months after making his Super Rugby debut.
The medical student absorbed plenty of rugby lessons in the year-ending spring tour.
“Internationally it's a totally different game, there's a lot more of a focus on the scrum,” Robinson told AAP.
“Certainly at a Wallaby level you've got to be continuously working at your scrum because over there it's the centrepiece of their game.”
Robinson stressed Australians passion for expansive rugby meant front-rowers had to do more than just scrummage well.
“You've also got to be very confident at going around the park because that's what Australian spectators love to see is that running style of rugby,” he said.
Robertson was one of more than a dozen Wallabies debutants in 2016 as coach Michael Cheika injected virtually a whole side's worth of new blood across the 15-Test campaign.
“It was a good thing from my perspective having a lot of younger guys that were in the same position, rather than getting chucked in as a youngster with a bunch of older guys,” Robertson said.
“But it was still a great learning curve for me and I learnt a lot off the older guys, Sekopoe Kepu, Stephen Moore were really helpful.”
Robertson clearly hankers after a first Test start following plenty of cameos and is determined to build on a promising maiden season in the senior ranks.
“I just wanted to make my debut for the Waratahs and then ended up making my Wallabies debut, which was an amazing year,” he said.
“But I guess it would be a shame to let that all go to waste and not get picked again.”
