Springbok prop's take on All Blacks' negative scrum claims
SPOTLIGHT: While the war of words between All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie and Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus regarding the scrum battle has reached boiling point, prop Ox Nché shared his experiences regarding the debated area.
Nché earned his 50th Test cap during the Springboks’ 33-26 win over the All Blacks at DHL Stadium on Saturday.
The prop played off the bench, replacing Gerhard Steenekamp in the 35th minute of the victory, which levelled the series at 1-1.
The former Cheetahs prop was originally named in the starting XV, but hours before kick-off, he was moved to the bench.
Despite the late adjustment, Nché embraced his role and focused on contributing to the team’s victory.
“I just understood the role that I had to take,” Nché told reporters.
“Obviously, being in my fifth year, the plan was a natural environment.
“I would have loved to start, but then, you know, late change. But I trust the coaches. I believe in the system. And I understand that I’m here because of the team. I just had to invest and believe in the plan.
“We keep going forward. I mean, we got the win, which is one positive out of it.”
He added: “I would have loved less resets in the scrums.
“But yeah, I think we can do better next week.”
The scrums have been a contentious topic following the game. In the post-match media briefing, Rennie accused the Springboks of walking around at scrums.
However, Erasmus was far from impressed, labelling the accusation as nonsense.
When asked about Rennie’s comments, Nche handed the final call to the official.
“Through the years, our scrum has always tried to go right through the pack,” Nche said.
“He [Rennie] probably sees it differently, or builds a perception about our pack, but that’s why there are rugby laws, and not like actual laws where there is only one way of doing things.
“We have laws and they are open for interpretation, and the man in the middle is always right, and we have to adapt. It’s open to interpretation.”
He added: “We had way too many resets.
“I think we spent too much time actually resetting scrums and having the ref come in.
“So, yeah, it’s on us to just do better next week.”
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The 31-year-old powerhouse reflected on his half-century alongside the 11th Bok centurion, Pieter-Steph du Toit.
“Looking back at the journey, I even sent one of my high school coaches a message this afternoon.
“It was a day about really looking into reflection, to see how far I’ve come,” Nché shared.
“And all the people who believed in me and backed me throughout the years, that’s all I wanted to do. I hope to make them proud and just keep going.”
