Springbok loosehead Ox Nche has predicted a formidable scrum battle when England arrive at Ellis Park on Saturday, acknowledging the visitors' set-piece improvement and hunger for redemption following their 2023 World Cup semi-final heartbreak.
England finished the recent Six Nations with a scrum success rate approaching 90 per cent, the best in the Championship, and recorded a scrum penalty differential of plus-six on their own feed. That foundation has given Steve Borthwick's side confidence heading into the Nations Championship opener in Johannesburg, despite a fifth-place Six Nations finish that yielded just one victory from five matches.
Ellis Genge, who will pack down opposite Nche, has spoken candidly about the lingering pain from the World Cup semi-final at Stade de France, where a scrum penalty from 40 metres allowed Handre Pollard to edge the Springboks into the lead. "Open wounds, you get f–king hammered in the scrum," Genge said earlier this year. "Well, not hammered, but your scrum lets you down, and you want to rectify it. Like the feeling after that semi of losing by a point and ultimately a penalty 40 metres out coming from our scrum, whether the decision was right or wrong. It hurts."
Stick warns of England's attacking intent
Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick highlighted the threat posed by England's backline, particularly the selection of Finn Smith at fly-half ahead of the more experienced George Ford. "If you look at their rewarding performances from their club players, and a guy like Finn Smith at 10 ahead of an experienced player like George Ford, they'll bring a lot of energy," Stick said on Friday. "Their backline has players with massive speed and an X-factor, so those players will bring it."
Stick emphasised that England's strengths extend beyond the set-piece. "They can kick the ball, and they are strong in the contestable game, while they have Smith, who can attack, and backs who have shown they can run," he said. "I also have no doubt they would have worked on their set pieces as well because they've always been strong there."
Captain Siya Kolisi dismissed any notion that the Springboks' world number one ranking makes them favourites against sixth-ranked England. "We listen to our coaches, and we know what it feels like to be beaten," Kolisi said. "We never walk into any match feeling like we're definitely going to win. If we did, we wouldn't have prepared the way we prepared this week."
The match kicks off at 17h40 at Ellis Park, with both sides aware that the opening fixture of the Nations Championship carries significance beyond the immediate result. For England, it represents an opportunity to validate the attacking system introduced by Lee Blackett and to exorcise the ghosts of Paris. For the Springboks, it marks the beginning of a campaign that will test their depth and tactical flexibility across multiple fronts.