A major talking point in the Tests so far has been the scrums.
Ox Nche played his 50th Test on Saturday. Picture: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
Powerhouse Springbok prop Ox Nche admitted his frustration with the lack of completed scrums over the first two Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Tests, after the Boks bounced back from their first Test loss to win the second Test in Cape Town on Saturday.
The 33-26 win was the perfect way to celebrate Nche making his 50th appearance for the Boks, on the same day that Pieter-Steph du Toit became the 11th South African centurion.
But asked after the match about the All Blacks’ claims that the Boks are “walking around” in the scrum to get an advantage, Nche rubbished them, while also saying it was a pity that they were unable to have a proper contest due to all the scrum resets.
“Through the years, our scrum has always tried to go right through the pack. He (All Blacks coach Dave Rennie) probably sees it differently, or builds a perception about our pack, but that’s why there are rugby laws, and not like actual laws where there is only one way of doing things.
“We have laws and they are open for interpretation, and the man in the middle is always right, and we have to adapt. It’s open to interpretation.
“We tried our best to make the scrum a contest. But we had way too many resets, and spent too much time actually resetting, and the onus is on us to be better.
“I feel like you have to have your break foot, hookers left of the mark, and we tried to do that, and we didn’t get it right as we had hoped. It’s just one of those things; going into the next game, we have to adapt.”
Would’ve been nice to start 50th Test
Nche said his landmark game was a special occasion, even though he was unable to start after a late switch which saw the original starting front row switched to the bench, and vice versa, but it still made him recall all the people that had helped him get to where he is.
“Obviously, being my 50th, it would have been great to start, but then came the late change. I trust the coaches, I believe in the system, and understand I’m here because of the team, and to invest and believe in the plan, and we keep going forward,” explained Nche.
“All I was thinking about was the people who believed in me from the beginning, the primary school coaches that said, ‘come play rugby’.
“The high school coaches that took time out of their holidays to open the gym for us. People that believed in me when nobody really did. I’m just grateful, thankful for the chance. And I hope I make them proud every single game that I play.”
