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Unpredictable Wallabies scrum a challenge for Springboks, says Ox Nche

Mike Greenaway|Published

‘You won’t have guys milking it and exploiting the boundaries of the law, and that is good for us,’ Springbok prop Ox Nche said about the new scrum law variations. Photo: BackpagePix

Springbok prop Ox Nche says that despite World Rugby’s alleged move to ‘depower’ the set scrums, the South Africans can still have their cake and eat it when they play the Wallabies in Brisbane on Saturday (6.30am start, SA time).

Since the last World Cup, the governing body has announced law tweaks that conspiracy-minded South Africans believe are part of a move to negate the Boks’ great strength at scrum time.

Nche was part of the famed Bomb Squad that powered over the opposition in the last quarter of the World Cup games.

The chocolate gateaux-munching prop earned fame with a T-shirt branded “Salads don’t win scrums”, but he says he has had to get fitter because of the new rule that scrums have to be set within 30 seconds.

World Rugby says it is trying to speed up the game, and failure to set the scrum quickly enough results in a free-kick.

“It shouldn’t be a problem,” Nche said yesterday. “We had looked at our scrums even before these slight law changes. We just have to adapt, and if the game becomes faster, we have the players who will love that.

“We have spoken about how the game could change and made plans for it.

“But I don’t think the new law variations, forming the scrum in 30 seconds, is depowering the scrum,” he insisted. “It just demands a bit more from the front-rowers and the entire forward pack.

“As a tight forward, you just have to meet the fitness requirements, to make sure that you can set quickly and keep the game flowing. You won’t have guys milking it and exploiting the boundaries of the law, and that is good for us.”

Nche said that all the fuss about the scrums is an overreaction, and the basics of the game should be preserved.

“You have had a lot of people talking about the scrum and as I’ve said in the past, people who don’t want scrums should just go watch rugby league. There are no scrums there, and it’s a pretty similar game.

“I think that it is a good adaptation to make the scrums a bit quicker, while still providing the opportunity to perform your trade and show the world what you are good at.

“I think it’s beneficial. It just requires more effort from the forwards. The teams that adapt quickest are the teams that will do well.”

The Boks certainly have the power to maul the Wallaby scrum.

They will have 10 World Cup-winning forwards on duty for Saturday’s Rugby Championship clash, while the Wallabies are vastly inexperienced in comparison and have been rocked by the withdrawal of top tighthead prop Taniela Tupou.

Nche will be up against the experienced Allan Alaalatoa, who famously had a run-in with Eben Etzebeth in Sydney last year, the last time the two teams played each other.

Interestingly, the 29-year-old Bok No 1 laughs off the belief among many that the Wallabies avoid scrumming as much as possible.

“For me, their scrum is very unpredictable,” Nche said. “You can see that they actually want to scrum. They stay in the contest.

“They will do anything to make sure that they dominate and go forward.

“It’s going to be a challenge for us, especially given that we aren’t in Super Rugby any more. It will be the first time since last year that we get to scrum against them.

“From what I have seen, they can be very unpredictable. You don’t know what they are going to bring. We just have to be prepared for anything.”

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Unpredictable Wallabies scrum a challenge for Springboks, says Ox Nche