Springboks wary of Scotland’s secret scrum weapon

Scotland’s set piece has been bolstered considerably by a strong South African influence which has the Springboks on guard.

South African-born props WP Nel and Pierre Schoeman add considerable skill and heft to their front row.

Scotland’s secret weapon

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Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber is also wary of the influence of Pieter de Villiers who was a scrum coach in the South African set up.

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“They are a fit team and because of that, they can get stuck in and play for over 80 minutes,” said Nienaber. “That’s certainly one of their strengths.

“We know Pieter de Villiers (Scotland’s scrum coach) well, and they also have strong set pieces, which allows them to play with the ball and with a lot of rhythm.”

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Nienaber said that he was looking forward to completing the mission as four years of work culminates in France.

“We had a really good week, with a solid conditioning block. The conditions here are similar to Durban. It’s hot and humid, but it was great for the players to get used to the conditions and we got some good work done,” said Nienaber.

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“I have butterflies from excitement. We’ve been working toward this for four years, so we are very excited to get the competition started.”

Springboks Rugby World Cup squad 2023

FORWARDS

Props

Vincent Koch

Ox Nché

Frans Malherbe

Trevor Nyakane

Steven Kitshoff

Hookers

Bongi Mbonambi

Malcolm Marx

Locks

Marvin Orie

RG Snyman

Jean Kleyn

Eben Etzebeth

Back-rows

Marco van Staden

Jasper Wiese

Kwagga Smith

Pieter-Steph du Toit

Duane Vermeulen

Siya Kolisi (captain)

Utility forwards

Franco Mostert

Deon Fourie

BACKS

Scrum-halves

Faf de Klerk

Jaden Hendrikse

Grant Williams

Cobus Reinach

Fly-halves

Manie Libbok

Damian Willemse

Centres

Andre Esterhuizen

Jesse Kriel

Damian de Allende

Back-three

Canan Moodie

Cheslin Kolbe

Makazole Mapimpi

Kurt-Lee Arendse

Willie le Roux

Springboks Rugby World Cup Pool

South Africa have been drawn in Rugby World Cup Pool B alongside Ireland, Scotland, Tonga and Romania.

Sun 10 Sept South Africa v Scotland (Stade Vélodrome, Marseille)

Sun 17 Sept South Africa v Romania (Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux)

Sat 23 Sept South Africa v Ireland (Stade de France, Saint-Denis)

Sun 1 Oct South Africa v Tonga (Stade Vélodrome, Marseille)