Sharks scrum coach Philip Lemmer said his pack will face a harder test against the Stormers on Saturday than it did against Leinster. The two South African sides meet in the United Rugby Championship at Cape Town Stadium, with kick-off at 4pm.
The Sharks put Leinster under steady pressure at scrum time in their win last weekend. They did the same against the Ospreys in their opening match of the season.
“It’s almost like the two big brothers taking sides at scrum time,” Lemmer said. “These players know each other very well. They’ve played against each other for many years at the Boks as well. It’s always a contest and a battle.”
Lemmer said the strong set piece comes from the standards the players set for each other, not from numbers on a sheet.
“Each guy keeps the guy next to him accountable and that’s the only way we can drive standards,” he said. “We’re not marking 100% to 90%. We’re marking the standards, whether Ox nailed his job or not.”
Springbok prop Ox Nche joined the Sharks squad after missing their pre-season training. He said being physical has become part of who the team is.
“We don’t just use it as words or a catchphrase. We actually want to be able to apply it, and it should be evident if you’re watching that you should have an idea what the DNA of the team is,” Nche said.
Lemmer said the Stormers forwards take the same pride in their driving maul as they do in their scrum. The Cape side lost to Edinburgh last weekend and struggled at the lineout in windy weather.
“They’re extremely physical,” Lemmer said. “They didn’t get a lot of metres for mauling. And that’s one thing that their forwards do well. So we see that mauling and the lineouts as just as big a threat.”
He added that the Stormers lost a few balls in the wind, but said stopping the maul and winning the scrum would still be a physical fight on Saturday.
The Sharks beat the Stormers both home and away last season, winning the last two meetings between the sides. Lemmer said those results will count for little this time.
“It’s definitely a new year, a new challenge,” he said. “We have to embrace all the challenges that lie ahead. As a group, that’s what we’re looking for, to measure ourselves.”
Nche said he is looking forward to facing his Springbok teammates. He said the result will depend on the whole pack and not on single battles.
“I honestly don’t see it as a me thing, it’s more about what we can do as a pack, how well we prepare,” he said.
The match is the Stormers’ first home game of the new URC season and the first derby of the campaign for both teams.
Source: this article is based on reporting by IOL Sport. Image: IOL Sport. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Sports desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Tiyani Mathebula writes about sport for Tzaneen Voice. Tiyani covers Bafana Bafana, the Springboks, the Proteas and the PSL, along with athletics, tennis and local club sport. Match reports and previews focus on results, team news, fixtures and what each game means for South African teams and fans.