Care to elaborate then?

I slightly disagree with that due to that nowadays the scrum half generally defends at the centre position, meaning that player is away from doing much tackling. In doing that the scrum half is protected and while required to do the occassional bit of tackling he is able to focus most of his energy on leading the team attacking wise.

I think the forwards including the hooker set the defensive pattern. It's the centre of the field and it's always the starting point of any attacking move from the opposition. If the centre of the field moves up quick and gets into the faces of the pivots from the attacking team then there is more chance of any move breaking down. If you win the centre of the field then you have a good chance of winning the game, which is why a good set of forwards are a neccessity.

I see your point now, but I disagree.

In the modern game the defensive pattern in the of the field is set by the two Props, the Hooker and the Loose Forward. These players occupy the central channel and set themselves within it. Either side of them is where the Second Row defends, these set the pattern of the defensive channel out until the wingers who will then set how compact the defensive line is. The scrum half defends outside the Second Row and often outside the Centre. In the modern day game, the Scrum Half doesn't set the defensive line.

Lomax was one of our best defenders yesterday. And he has no problem organising his part of the line - he defends from the centre position. What we needed was a fullback who could organise the defence, and cover it too, but Wello was very poor yesterday. While we allowed them too much room overall on the pitch, our goal line defence was particularly poor. But if memory serves most of their tries came from within the sticks area and not where Lomax was defending.

I am sure Simmons actually stated this was his plan in an interview over the past few weeks.