Springbok loosehead prop Ox Nche knows that if is he going to enjoy celebratory chocolate cake tomorrow night in Santiago del Estero (11pm kick-off, SA time), he is going to have to go “blow for blow” with some of the best scrummagers in the Rugby Championship.
The Boks are in the northern Argentinian city on a mission to land their first Championship title since 2019.
Coach Rassie Erasmus has revamped his team for the match, and Nche forms a front row with Malcolm Marx and tighthead prop Thomas du Toit.
“We’ve mentioned during the week in our team meetings that if you come to Argentina, it’s pretty similar to South Africa in terms of crowd noise,” Nche said.
“The only difference is probably the language. Otherwise, it feels like home.”
Nche might have added that the Boks also feel at home because they are in the land of probably the juiciest steaks on the planet.
“To play against a pack like Argentina’s, they are big boys who have a lot of pride for their country. They play for their people, similar to us.
“The one thing is you have to make sure if your opponent goes low, you go lower. If he goes lower, then you have to go lower than that.
“Whatever you think you are going to give, he is going to give back to you. Whatever you think you can take, he can take too.
“For us, it’s about going blow for blow, making sure you’re the one that lands that first vital blow. You have to stand your ground, and just keep going through the pain and the challenges.”
The Pumas go into the game knowing that a win will give them a shot at a first title when the teams have their rematch in Mbombela next week.
The Pumas have blown hot and cold this season – they beat the All Blacks in Wellington, but were heavily beaten a week later in Auckland, and they lost to the Wallabies in Argentina before responding by putting 67 points past the Australians.
“Our theme is to expect the unexpected,” Nche said. “They’ve grown their set-piece game, especially the line-out. They try new things.
“I think they are going to be a massive challenge. They can maul and play off the top, play around the front or the back of the line-out. So, you can see that they have been putting a lot of work into their set pieces.
“In terms of the scrum, they have a lot of guys who have been playing at the highest level for some time. They have a lot of strengths and work well together. They just all come together and are very consistent.”
The burly fellow likely to be Nche’s direct opponent is La Rochelle star Joel Sclavi. He has built a fearsome reputation in Europe, and Nche will have his hands full stopping the 137kg prop.
Eyes on the prize 👀#Springboks #ForeverGreenForeverGold pic.twitter.com/p21pTPwpEq
The 30-year-old helped the French club win the Champions Cup in 2022.
“He has a similar frame to Frans Malherbe. He’s pretty wide and tall. He has a massive chest, so it’s very hard to get under him,” Nche said.
“He’s been playing very well for La Rochelle in the Top 14 and they are good at the set piece, especially the scrums.
“If he gets the hit on you, it’s going to be a long day. With his big frame, it just makes it difficult to get underneath him.
“He knows how to scrum, he’s very experienced and he’s been playing on both sides of the scrum for a very long time.
“It’s going to be a very good challenge.”
Argentina Team
15 Juan Cruz Mallia 14 Bautista Delguy 13 Lucio Cinti 12 Santiago Chocobares 11 Mateo Carreras 10 Tomas Albornoz 9 Gonzalo Bertranou 8 Joaquin Oviedo 7 Marcos Kremer 6 Pablo Matera 5 Pedro Rubiolo 4 Franco Molina 3 Joel Sclavi 2 Julian Montoya (captain) 1 Thomas Gallo.
Bench: 16 Ignacio Ruiz 17 Ignacio Calles 18 Pedro Delgado 19 Guido Petti 20 Juan Martin Gonzalez 21 Gonzalo Garcia 22 Santiago Carreras 23 Matias Moroni.