Nche talks Scotland scrum challenge and the Bok ‘Bomb Squad’

Springbok prop Ox Nche is relishing a different sort of forward battle when the Boks take on Scotland in their second end-of-year UK tour match at Murrayfield on Saturday afternoon.

The Bok pack made light work of the challenge of an underwhelming Welsh pack over the past weekend, earning multiple scrum penalties while also mauling them with relative success, however a stiffer battle is expected from a strong Scottish pack led by a South African coach.

“It is going to be a different type of battle, their (scrum) coach is Pieter de Villiers who I worked with at U20 and SA Schools level, so I know personally that he is a really good coach,” admitted Nche.

“You can see how well they did against Australia, so we are expecting a different challenge. They have a lot of pride in their set piece and mauling and they have gotten a lot of reward from their scrums and mauls.

“So we are expecting a good challenge there and we are all doing our prep, so we will definitely be ready by Saturday and see how we man up to the challenge.”

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The way the Bok front row has worked in recent times has seen two different front rows working and being replaced together, unless an injury throws a spanner in the works.

So just like the past weekend’s match against Wales the front three of Nche, Bongi Mbonambi and Trevor Nyakane are expected to play for the first 50 or so minutes of the game, following which they will be replaced at the same time with Steven Kitshoff, Malcolm Marx and Vincent Koch entering the fray.

This allows the front row to put everything they have into the time that they have on the field, knowing that reinforcements will take over once their shift is done.

“For us every single chance we get we just have to go full out and empty the tank and once your job is done you’ll get a rest,” explained Nche.

“So the starters have a certain job to do depending on whoever we are playing against and the ‘Bomb Squad’ then have a certain job when they get on.

“You get off when your job is done, whether it is 50 minutes or 40 minutes as long as you’ve done your job that’s all that matters.”