Matty Corkhill of Corkhill’s Engineering has been the guiding force of Boorowa’s globally
recognised Enforcer Rugby scrum machines for decades. (Next Week we go in depth with the man behind the machines and his new inventions and the town where he has turned his thoughts in to tangibles. A photo to his right shows former NZ Hooker Sean Fitzpatrick lining up against Australian Hooker Phil Kearns in the 1990s.
A scrum machine designed in a Boorowa workshop has become a trusted training tool for elite rugby teams around the world, proving innovation can thrive far beyond the city limits.
For almost 30 years, Matthew Corkhill and his team at Corkhill’s Engineering have been manufacturing the Enforcer Scrum Machine.
Originally designed to enhance rugby training, it has become a globally recognised product used by teams at all levels, from local clubs to the sport’s elite professionals.
“I played a lot of rugby union and played in the front row and used a lot of very ordinary scrum machines in that time,” Mr Corkhill said.
“So, I came up with the idea of the Enforcer machine.”
The original concept was tested with the ACT Brumbies before progressing to the highest levels of the sport.
“It went from basically Yass and Boorowa to the Brumbies and then to the Wallabies,” Mr Corkhill said.
“We export the Enforcer and have done now for, well, we’ve been manufacturing it for nearly 30 years, so we’re pretty well known on the world stage.”
Today, international touring teams visiting Australia use Enforcer machines as part of their preparations, while clubs and representative sides around the world continue to use the Australian-made product.
Despite its global reach, Corkhill’s Engineering has remained proudly based in Boorowa.
“I think the fact that I’ve stayed in Boorowa, people get a little bit of a shock, and I think they like the idea that it comes out of a country area,” Mr Corkhill said.
“There is something outside of farming happening in these country areas.”
Member for Cootamundra, Steph Cooke, said the success of the Enforcer demonstrates the important role regional businesses play in innovation and manufacturing.
“I’m incredibly proud that the Enforcer comes from Boorowa,” Ms Cooke said.
“Full credit to Matt and his team here because the work they’ve done in this space, the
iterations that occur to the Enforcer every single year as the game evolves, is just
next-level commitment and dedication over many, many years.”
Ms Cooke said the Enforcer’s worldwide reputation should serve as a reminder that
regional communities continue to punch above their weight.
“The Enforcer is shipped all over Australia and indeed all over the world,” Ms Cooke
said.
“How cool is that when it’s coming from a tiny little community like Boorowa?”
“We might live a long way from the big cities, but we punch well above our weight
when it comes to innovation, design, construction and engineering.”
For Mr Corkhill, the product’s success is also a source of pride for the local workforce
that builds every machine.
“When you’re passionate about it, it’s exciting,” Mr Corkhill said.
“The boys that are building them are passionate, and you see teams on the other side of the world using our machine. The boys get great satisfaction out of that.”
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