Cardiff Blues prop John Yapp is eager to take a big scalp this autumn when Wales host the might of all three Tri-Nations sides and Fiji in the Invesco Perpetual Series.
First up for Wales is Australia at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday 6th November and the 16-times capped Yapp has warned of the improvement in the Wallabies scrum ahead of the opening fixture.
“We have four big games against big teams,” said Yapp.
“With the way the boys are looking and with home advantage hopefully we can pick up a big scalp. The crowd are great and always get behind us.
“We will do a lot of analysis when we get into camp but there’s no doubt the Wallabies scrum has improved massively in the last few years.
“Things are definitely going the right way for them.
“In games there is a big emphasis on scrums now and a big focus in training is on the set-piece.
“If you can’t provide a platform the backs won’t get any ball.”
Yapp began his career at loose-head but has been working with Blues coach Dai Young on making the switch across the front-row to the tight-head side and the 27-year-old believes this is a good thing for club and country.
“I’ve been doing a bit of both recently and it gives everyone more options,” added Yapp.
“I’m happy to play either side of the scrum, I’m happy to see how it goes.”
