'I can’t think of a tighthead playing in South Africa with his general movement... I think he’s going to be in the national mix for a very long time.'
Stormers boss John Dobson believes 21-year-old tighthead prop Zachary Porthen is certainly deserving of his SA Rugby Young Player of the Year nomination.
The director of rugby praised his union’s 2024/25 U21 captain and current senior team player, who made his Test debut last November, becoming South Africa’s youngest-ever Springbok prop. He earned Test caps against Japan, Italy and Wales during South Africa’s end-of-year tour, proving solid in the scrums and general play.
‘Exceptional’ general play
The latter was where Dobson’s praise was focused, as the former Junior Springbok captain initially had to improve his set-piece play.
“He definitely deserves the nomination,” the Stormers boss said. “I’m quite pleased because if you look at the last three [Stormers] U21 captains, from Sacha [Feinberg-Mngomezulu], to Paul de Villiers, to Zach – it’s magic.
“His general game has always been exceptional. We selected a 20-year-old tighthead against Benetton who had two international looseheads, and he got a scrum penalty, in April last year. Tightheads are meant to come in at 25, 26. The fact that he is doing it at U21 is great.”
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Porthen improves his scrum performance
Dobson said the Stormers needed Porthen to up his scrum strength, and the youngster did this through help from scrum coaches Brok Harris (Stormers) and Daan Human (Springboks). Furthermore, experience would only make him stronger in the set-piece.
“I think the work he has done… is exceptional. If he can tick the scrum power, which he has clearly done now, he is a special player.
“I wouldn’t like do a ranking order of our tightheads now with the way he’s playing. He got scrum penalties last week. He’s also a leader as well.
“I can’t think of a tighthead playing in South Africa now with his general movement. The way he tackles and carries… I think he’s going to be in the national mix for a very long time.”
