Seismic scrum battle set up between Stormers and Sharks in Cape Town

Cape Town is not known for being an area where one has to worry about earthquakes, but a warning for tectonic activity should perhaps be issued before Saturday’s seismic United Rugby Championship clash between the Stormers and the Sharks, and in particular the mouth-watering scrum battle.

The Stormers have named an all-Springbok front row for the clash at Cape Town Stadium in Ntuthuko Mchunu, Andre-Hugo Venter and Wilco Louw, with fellow internationals Deon Fourie and Neethling Fouche on the bench alongside the highly-rated Zimbabwean, Vernon Matongo.

The Sharks have two acclaimed Springbok props in Ox Nche and Thomas du Toit, while World Cup winner Vincent Koch is waiting on the bench.

What might edge the scrum battle the Sharks’ way is the presence of mighty Springbok Eben Etzebeth at No 4, while they have two other international locks on a six/two bench in Jason Jenkins and Stephan Lewies.

But it is the battle between Stormers tighthead Louw, in his first match back with the Cape franchise, and Sharks loosehead Nche that will be the focal point.

It’s always exciting to go up against guys you play with and it’s going to be a great challenge. But I don’t see this as a ‘me’ thing - it’s about how well the pack prepares as a whole and works together.

The Bok teammates are widely acknowledged as being the best scrummagers in the world in their respective positions.

“It’s always exciting to go up against guys you play with and it’s going to be a great challenge. But I don’t see this as a ‘me’ thing - it’s about how well the pack prepares as a whole and works together. We need to do things together,” Nche said.

“Obviously we want to be dominant in the set-pieces. You can gain 40 or 50m if you get a penalty there and that gives you momentum.

“Our big focus is physicality and it’s not just words, it should be evident and give an idea of what the DNA of this Sharks team is.”

Even Stormers coach John Dobson was licking his lips for the contest. “There are lots of reasons to buy tickets, but if you’re a rugby purist the scrum battle is going to be massive. The scrum will show which pack is the meneer , so it’s the flashpoint”

“Our scrum culture is so important to us and Neethling has done very well in the past when he has scrummed against Ox. But Thomas du Toit did a job on Leinster last weekend, the scrum probably turned that game for the Sharks, with Thomas Clarkson getting carded.”

Dobson blamed the disintegration of that set-piece for both their defeat last weekend in Edinburgh and also last season’s loss to the Sharks in Cape Town.

“Eben is clever when it comes to lineout contesting. His ground movement is fast and he obviously gets high. So it’s going to be a challenge.”