Who Hugh? He's on the Wibbly Wobblies bench and apparently he's expecting some. "You can expect anything from England," McMeniman said during the week. "Definitely off-the-ball stuff, or anything if you're lying on the ground, and a bit of a scratch on the eye."

There are so many responses to Hugh's concerns – what kind of name is that for a tight forward anyway? – that it is difficult to know where to start. The first is what a sap. Any international forward worthy of the title does not go bleating about possible trouble days before the kick off.

We'll be kind to Hugh. Maybe he was set up, used by the Aussie management to try to alert the referee to what will undoubtedly have to be a no holds barred, uncompromising effort by the England pack if they are to beat Australia.

But Hugh? What has the game come to if you're worried about getting trodden on when you're lying on the ground. Since when in rugby has lying on the ground been acceptable? What do you want England to do? Say, "Excuse me old chap", and walk round you. Or, extend a hand and help you gently to your feet before carrying on with the game.

Another response is to ask Hugh what era he thinks he's playing in. This World Cup has gone after foul play to such an extent that it is impossible to stamp down without being stamped on by referees, touch judges, citing officers and disciplinary panels. Make a tackle marginally higher than chest height and it's off to the bin for 10 minutes. I wrote earlier about the death of rucking. When Raphael Ibanez rested his slipper on the thigh of an Irish forward he was summarily admonished by a finger wagging referee. Those days have gone, Hugh. Position your anxieties in the right decade at least.

Because there was a time when the Aussie pack were justifiably fearful of British forwards. The occasion was the second Test between the Lions and Australia in 1989, subsequently dubbed The Battle of Ballymore.

It all started when Robert Jones stood on Nick Farr-Jones's boot as he was about to put the ball in to a scrum. The two scrum-halves exchanged handbags and then the heavy mob waded in. First into battle on behalf of the Lions was Mike Teague. Second into the brawl was police constable Dean Richards, followed by fellow copper Wade Dooley, to be joined, eventually, by solicitor Brian Moore. The Wallabies called it disgusting, and shameful and illegal. Illegal? With that cast list it was the most lawful scrap in the history of the game.

Which brings me to the third reaction to Hugh's whinging. Maybe, just maybe, the Wallabies are still fearful of what a fired up England pack can do to them. The Twickenham Test of 2005 when Andrew Sheridan twisted Al Baxter inside then out then inside again just for fun is still a recent memory.

Hugh couldn't be seen to be saying that ahead of a crucial Test. Pleading for England not to push too hard or to go easy on the Aussie front row would be too shameful for words. So instead he went down that tired old road of talking up the biff. It could be that the Aussies are genuinely worried about what will happen to them up front on Saturday. Maybe England have a chance after all.