Ox Nche addresses the Wilco Louw question
SPOTLIGHT: When Ox Nche fronted the media on Tuesday ahead of the Sharks’ trip to Cape Town, he was obviously bombarded with questions about scrums.
The Sharks were fantastic in that area of the game in a 26-20 victory over Leinster, and Nche contributed to the dominance when he came off the bench in the second half.
While the Sharks’ forwards pummelled the Irish visitors, it’s going to get a whole lot harder for JP Pietersen’s side against the Stormers’ pack.
The Capetonians will be introducing a few more Springboks in their matchday squad this week, and one of them could be prop Wilco Louw.
A battle between Nche and Louw in the scrums will be a mouthwatering affair, especially after their strong performances for the Springboks over the last couple of months.
“It’s always exciting when you go up against guys you play with,” said Nche.
“It’s obviously a great challenge to play against him, but I don’t see it as a ‘me’ thing.
“It’s more about what we can do as a pack and how well we prepare.
“Essentially we have to work together as a pack to make sure we achieve what we want to at the end of the day.”
The Sharks won a number of scrum penalties against Leinster, and Nche emphasised how important that area of their game can be when it comes to momentum.
“We prepare to be dominant in our set-pieces. The scrums will definitely be a point where we can put pressure on them and disrupt them a bit.
“We probably didn’t expect to do it that well because calls could go 50-50.
“It was one of our focuses, and I think it did make a big difference. You win like 30 to 40 metres if you get a penalty from a scrum.
“It just gives the team momentum, and we can play in their half and put pressure on them.”
Sharks scrum coach Philip Lemmer believes the standards in the Sharks’ camp have been significantly raised.
“I think pre-season always helps a lot, but I think these guys are challenging each other at [training] sessions. It’s gold for us.
“Each guy keeps the guy next to him accountable, and that’s the only way we can drive standards.
“It’s more the standards that we drive, and that is what we are marking. We are not marking 100 percent or 90 percent; we are marking the standards – whether Ox nailed his job or not and that’s how we keep each other accountable.
“If you do that, the results and the good stats will come.”
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