Kitshoff on Bok challenge: ‘It’s a different ball game in the north’

A very physical test awaits the Springbok prop department as they prepare to face the best of front rows of Wales, Scotland and England in successive weekends on their end of year tour to the UK starting on Saturday.

A different game is expected to the one that they came up against in the recently concluded Rugby Championship and the Boks will need to adjust to the situation quickly if they are to assert their dominance from the start.

“It is definitely a different ball game when you come and play in the north. Luckily a couple of years ago I had a big stint in France and then I’ve been on a couple of end of year tours with the Boks,” admitted prop Steven Kitshoff.

“In the Southern Hemisphere when you play in the Rugby Championship it is a more free flowing game… you play off the top, or in and out at scrum time.

“But when it comes to the Northern Hemisphere games it is long tough scrums, playing against a big pack of forwards, so you really get tested mentally and physically.”

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With Wales first up the Springbok pack will have a decent idea of what to expect from the pitch at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, especially if the roof is closed as the turf is similar to that at the Cape Town Stadium, where Kitshoff and hooker Bongi Mbonambi have played a lot of their rugby.

This could lead to some tough conditions underfoot if the turf tears up as expected during the game this weekend.

“It’s something we do take into consideration, the field is a bit loose underfoot and will tear up, so we will go into the week with that in mind in the way we set up and the way we attack at scrum time,” said Kitshoff.

“We can’t take the scrum too low as it will just collapse, so we will make adjustments in our processes that will benefit the whole pack and hopefully make sure that we get the dominance and momentum that we are looking for when it comes to the scrum battle.”

Following the Wales clash the Boks move on to face France at Murrayfield in Edinburgh and then to Twickenham in London where they will face off against England in the final game of the tour.