Young Zach Porthen should be set for a long Springbok career, and could become a massive player if he emulates his hero Wilco Louw.
Springbok prop Zach Porthen gets up with the ball after scoring a try against Scotland at Loftus Versfeld in July. Picture: Johan Rynners/Nations Championship via Getty Images
Rising Springbok prop talent Zach Porthen is eager to follow in the footsteps of one of the world’s strongest scrummagers, Wilco Louw, and is excited to get another chance to prove his worth against Argentina in Buenos Aires this weekend.
Porthen has been named on the bench for the one-off Test, and will make his third second half cameo of the season, after coming off the bench against England and Scotland in July, while it will also be his sixth Bok cap, after making his debut in November last year.
The 22-year-old Porthen has enjoyed a stunning rise in the Bok system, despite him not being a regular at his franchise, the Stormers, but has fast become a dependable squad player for coach Rassie Erasmus. He can feature on either side of the scrum, although is primarily a tighthead.
“Wilco is someone I honestly look up to. I think he’s such a powerhouse, strong athlete; the way he scrums is just mesmerising,” said Porthen.
“I don’t think I’m quite there yet, to be completely honest with you, but there are aspects in Wilco’s game that I do want to achieve. I don’t know how long it’s going to take (to get to that level), but I want to be able to scrum the way he does.
“I want to be able to take contact the way he does and do these things with a mature sense of rugby IQ and all that. I’m hoping I get there in due time, but yeah, we’ll see how it goes.”
International step-up
Porthen, who captained the Junior Springboks back in 2024, admitted that the step up to international rugby was massive, and that he needed to put in the work and continue improving to keep himself in the system.
“Playing junior rugby is one thing, but it is obviously a massive step up to international rugby, so you are always trying to better every aspect of your game,” explained Porthen.
“Before every training session, I put my head on one or two things. I’ll say today I want to get better at this and that, and I try to be consistent to improve in every single training session.
“The biggest place where I want to get my foot in the ground is at scrum time. So I’m just hoping I can enforce a bit there and just keep improving day in and day out at scrum time.”
Looking ahead to the game against Argentina, who are known as a strong scrumming side, Porthen said he was more focused on doing his job than on what he expected from them.
“I haven’t thought too much about their reputation specifically. I take every game as the main job. I keep the main thing the main thing. Every week presents a different challenge, and this is simply the obstacle we have to overcome this week,” said Porthen.
Kick off in Buenos Aires on Saturday is 9pm.
