Springbok scrum ready to test out new things against Wallabies — Daan Human

Springbok scrum coach Daan Human has hinted the world champions will be looking to implement a few new things at scrum time when they take on the Wallabies in the opening match of the Rugby Championship Down Under on Saturday morning (6.45am).

The Bok scrum is often the most feared in the world and although they have enjoyed dominance over the Australian scrum in recent years, Human said that they wouldn’t underestimate the Wallabies, while trying to improve their own set-piece in the coming weeks.

After this weekend’s match in Brisbane, the teams will meet again the following Saturday, in Perth.

Teams have managed to find ways to nullify the Bok scrum to an extent at times, as Ireland showed during the drawn two-Test series in South Africa in July, and the Boks will be hoping to improve on that showing against the hosts in Brisbane.

“That (the scrum) is definitely one of our strengths, but teams are finding ways to manage and handle us at scrum time. They (Australia) are sometimes good (at scrum time), and sometimes not, but we aren’t focusing on that,” explained Human.

“What I can tell you is that they are 100% (win ratio) from their last three games, and their scrum has looked a lot more stable than it has in the past.

“But we are also improving. We are working on a lot of new things that we want to implement as well, so little by little we are getting there. We will see on Saturday how that is going and if we are going forward or not.”

Strong start

With the Boks facing Australia in their first two games of the competition, the All Blacks will be taking on Argentina in their two opening games, and they will be favourites to get off to a strong start.

The Boks will thus be aware of how important it will be to start well to keep up in touch with the All Blacks, but Human claimed that their focus was solely on the Wallabies.

“We are not focused on how New Zealand will do against Argentina. We are only focused on our game coming up,” said Human.

“We aren’t thinking about catching up and needing bonus points, which was probably the case (in 2022) when we had to win by a certain margin of points (against Argentina to win the Rugby Championship).

“So we aren’t looking past this weekend’s game, but we do know the importance of needing to start well and get a win.”

The Boks also have a few new faces in the group and Human admits that they are trying to get them up to speed as they cast their eye towards the 2027 World Cup, which will be held in Australia.

“We have a number of new young guys in the group because we are planning for 2027 (World Cup). But at the moment we are trying to keep our focus on each game as it comes,” said Human.

“So we are trying to get them used to the system and our culture as fast as possible, and I think they are getting there.”