Sharks-Bulls match: Three scrum-time talking points

It was a tough day at the office last weekend for Bulls tighthead prop Marcel van der Merwe in their Currie Cup match against the Free State Cheetahs, with the 30-year-old Springbok being replaced after 34 minutes by World Cup winner Trevor Nyakane.

That brought stability to the scrums, but that set-piece is again going to be a key area of Saturday’s massive clash with the Sharks in Durban.

Here then are Three Talking Points about the Sharks versus Bulls scrum battle that awaits us at Kings Park:

The Bulls’ first-choice props Trevor Nyakane and Jacques van Rooyen should be back in the starting line-up

The Bulls stand to gain massive rewards if they can beat the Sharks in Durban, giving them a 12-point lead over the KwaZulu-Natalians and allowing them to be much more flexible in their approach to their festive season games. So coach Jake White is unlikely to pass up the opportunity to reunite the impressive pairing of Nyakane and Van Rooyen, who has served his one-match ban for his red card in Cape Town. They make for a formidable pairing in the scrums.

What of Marcel van der Merwe?

Van der Merwe is likely to still be on the bench and, with his confidence low, will be targeted as soon as he gets on the field. But White has backed the former Toulon man to come good.

“Marcel is a Springbok and has done well in France, which is the toughest scrumming league in the world, so I am sure he will get it right,” said White.

“Jaco Peyper blew the match very well, but there were still some scrum penalties that came down to interpretation. Marcel has just been out of rugby for a long time with his ankle injury and there’s no doubt that if Trevor Nyakane goes down we will have to find a solution. But it’s no different to if Frans Malherbe had to go down for Western Province. That’s why it’s so important for me to try different combinations.”

How are the Sharks placed at scrum time?

The Sharks have been boosted by the return of their tighthead, Thomas du Toit, from injury and the World Cup winner played 40 minutes in the impressive win over the Pumas two weeks ago. He will team up with fellow Springbok Ox Nche and both props will be full of confidence and loving their rugby in Durban having signed new two-year contracts that were announced this week.

“The scrums are going to be a very vital part of Saturday’s match because the Bulls have a very good front row and a dominant pack,” said Du Toit.

“We’re going to have to outwork them, outscrum and outmaul them. We’ll be under pressure to get that performance right because the Bulls are a quality side with killer instinct. And it has to be an 80-minute performance at 100%.”

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