Scrum guru Tom Harrison reveals the secrets behind England's success, how he has turned it into a 'weapon' - and why the future is so bright

During his formative playing stint at Auch in France's second tier, Tom Harrison learned the Gallic mantra which is as true now as ever before: 'Pas de melee, pas de victoire' – 'No scrum, no win.'

That philosophy is particularly relevant to England's recent fortunes. Last year, set-piece struggles were a factor in the national team's agonising series of narrow defeats. But this year, England's scrum was the best in the Six Nations and provided a dominant platform which allowed them to claim four wins out of five, to finish narrowly behind champions France after a promising campaign.

Rewind nine months and Steve Borthwick was lamenting trouble up front which was undermining his side.

In the aftermath of back-to-back Test defeats in New Zealand, the head coach said pointedly: 'Clearly, we need to find some more tightheads. That's going to be a big development project for myself and Tom Harrison. The scrum was under pressure, so that's an area we have to improve.'

From that low point, England have been transformed. They have 'found' a tighthead who was hiding in plain sight – Will Stuart – and he has stormed into the reckoning as a potential Test starter for the Lions. The area of weakness has become a deadly asset, as captain Maro Itoje noted before the championship finale in Cardiff when he said: 'This (scrum) has become a massive weapon for us.'

Harrison, at just 33, has earned widespread acclaim for his revival mission behind the scenes. He has worked diligently to forge close links with England's flourishing age-group production line and with counterparts at the Premiership clubs.

All the meticulous co-ordination is paying off. He is at pains to emphasise that it remains a work in progress – but the progress to date is clear for all to see.

Speaking to Mail Sport in Northampton, Harrison explained the resurgence in his area of influence and how England have adapted to life after Dan Cole and Joe Marler – twin pillars of their front row for a generation.

There has been a technical tweak; scrummaging lower as it suits Ellis Genge at loosehead, but also a primary focus on creating unity of purpose, aided by some helpful pointers from a decorated water-sport expert.

'When you have – in the forwards – eight clubs contributing to one scrum, it is about thinking, "How do we get everyone on the same page",' said Harrison. 'Timing is key.

'I spent some time during the last World Cup talking to Steve Trapmore. He won a gold medal in the eight-man cox at the Sydney Olympics, then won gold at the Paris Olympics as the rowing coach. We talked a lot about how to get timing, rhythm and cohesion, so that eight guys do the same thing at the same time.'

Each coach in the England set-up needs a precious share of the training schedule. Harrison has two main slots in the build-up to each Test. He gathers his forwards in a shady corner of the pitch at their Surrey base and oversees a limited number of live scrums, which become feisty without boiling over – and sometimes draw a crowd.

'On day one of training in a Test week, we'll do set-up work with the front row and what we expect from the opposition,' he said. 'Day two is more physical and will be our big hit-out. We'll go live and it will be really competitive; with seven or eight scrums – max. Then on Thursday, with our last session, we'll do four live scrums – max. It's about teaching under fatigue, to prepare.

'It's the best part of the week. The backs come over to watch, which gives an extra sense of how important it is. Ollie Lawrence or Tommy Freeman will come on to the flank. We'll take someone out and put one of them in, to cover our sin-bin plan.'

England's scrum surge has been exemplified by the impact of one man in particular – Stuart, the Bath tighthead, who reached his 50th cap in Cardiff last month, to cap a momentous campaign for the 28-year-old. He has gone from being a largely unheralded figure, in and out of the starting XV, into a formidable cornerstone of the pack and a Lion-in-waiting.

Harrison revealed that a meeting in the West Country late last year had a galvanising impact. 'I sat down with him in a coffee shop in Bath and laid out how it could look for him,' he said. 'That was in December – after the autumn Tests. It was near his house, in a lovely place his girlfriend booked.

'A lot of our chat was about understanding what he needs and how I can help. He has attacked it so hard. We speak weekly on the phone and I speak regularly to Stevie Scott, Bath's scrum coach. We've tried to have consistency about how we coach him and how the S&C (strength & conditioning) teams try to get him into better physical shape. He's always been phenomenally strong, but he has worked on his acceleration and his repeat ability, and on being in a good, heavy shape – not just heavy.'

As well as a physical transformation, there has been a mental one for Stuart too. He has consciously sought to move out of the shadow of one of England's all-time prop icons. 'He's realised that there's a huge opportunity and there's no safety blanket of Dan Cole now,' added Harrison. 'We spoke about that. He realised, "I'm no longer the young pup – it's time to come to the forefront".'

He certainly did that during the Six Nations, not least with some fancy footwork in open play. One stunning sidestep in the win over Italy clearly proved so effective and enjoyable that Stuart tried to repeat it several times the following week.

'That was unbelievable, but then we got to Cardiff and he tried it with every carry,' said Harrison. 'We had to say, "Okay Stu, it doesn't need to happen every time!". But his footwork was celebrated.'

Looking ahead, Harrison has an exciting crop of rookie props emerging from the imperious England Under 20 side, who won the junior World Cup last summer. The first to graduate was Asher Opoku-Fordjour, the Sale sensation who can operate on both side of the front row. He made his senior debut against Japan last November and came on grinning, in the knowledge that his first task would be to join a scrum.

'What I loved about that was the way Maro went over to him,' said Harrison. 'The seven other blokes in that scrum knew that this was his moment; and they were going to make it his moment. He was in there with Luke Cowan-Dickie, who he plays all his club games with, so it was like he had his big brother there to look after him. Not that he needs looking after, he's a strong boy!'

The next in line for a promotion to the England squad is likely to be Afolabi Fasogbon, the massive Gloucester tighthead who came to wider prominence earlier this season when he drove Genge back in a scrum, then waved the veteran off when he was replaced moments later. It was the cheeky act of a confident character. So, did Harrison like the assertive attitude?

'I'm a big one for walking the walk before you talk the talk,' he said. 'He's fronted-up in the Premiership but he has to keep backing it up. Our selections for the summer tour obviously will be influenced by the Lions. If Will Stuart goes with the Lions, we will be bringing in another tighthead. It could potentially be him.'

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Fasogbon will be on duty for Gloucester at Saracens on Saturday, while Opoku-Fordjour will lock horns with Fin Baxter at The Stoop. Stuart will be at Sandy Park, aiming to help Bath enhance their status as Premiership leaders.

On Sunday, Genge will square up to Cole/Heyes at Ashton Gate, where Harrison will be watching from the stand.

After a journeyman playing career, he is hitting the heights now as a coach. 'I love what I do,' he said. 'It is genuinely the best job.'

With all the additional firepower coming through, the 'weapon' he is building should become even more deadly in the months and years ahead.