Orie confident makeshift hookers Fourie, Van Staden will come up trumps

Springbok lock Marvin Orie has backed makeshift hookers Deon Fourie and Marco van Staden to put in a solid shift in their last Rugby World Cup Pool B showdown against Tonga at the Stade Vélodrome on Sunday.

The Boks will be tested in the hooker department this weekend with Bongi Mbonambi rested and Malcolm Marx and Joseph Dweba not in France, Fourie and Van Staden will be required to close the gap left by the absence of the regular hookers.

Fourie will start in the No 2 jersey with Van Staden his cover. The duo have little to no Test experience in the position of hooker a both are first-choice loose forwards. It can be expected that Tonga will target them when they meet in Marseille.

Orie, who will start in the second row with Eben Etzebeth, believes Fourie and Van Staden will be able to withstand the pressure that comes with playing at hooker, especially when it comes to their lineout throwing.

‘Most comfortable with’

“I wouldn’t say it’s pressure,” Orie told the media.

“There are specific shapes and throws that Deon can throw very (well) … Marco as well. We try to find the shape and the calls that they feel the most comfortable with.

“Myself and ‘Sous’ (Franco Mostert) and RG (Snyman), together with the coach, we try to figure out what calls would be best,” he said.

That won’t be the only test the hookers will face; they have to battle it out in the scrums against the big Tonga pack and deal with their physicality. The Boks are known to always come out on top when it comes to physical battles.

Orie says they are looking forward to the challenge Tonga will present in their clash.

‘Hard hitters’

“They have a lot of big and athletic players. They are hard hitters as one can see, so we are expecting challenging scrums and lineouts. Many of their players have also played at a high level, so it will be a tough match,” Orie said.

“Of course, it’s going to be a physical match. We saw when we were doing our analysis, some of the collisions against Scotland and also against Ireland. There were some big collisions. Of course, there are some big guys, Ben (Tameifuna) I think is close to 150kg if not more.

“It’s going to be a good challenge, but also for us, we don’t shy away, so I think it will be a good match,” he said.