Beast Mtawarira is determined to prove a point this Saturday against a tighthead he considers to be the very best in northern hemisphere rugby. JON CARDINELLI in Dublin reports.
‘That has to be the standard from hereon in,’ said Bok coach Allister Coetzee when he was asked about the performance against the All Blacks in Cape Town last month. The Bok forwards fired at the set pieces and collisions to get the hosts within two points of a famous victory against the No 1 team in the world.
Malcolm Marx was the standout for the Boks in that fixture. That said, Steven Kitshoff – who was drafted into the starting lineup after Mtawarira withdrew due to personal reasons – certainly made a statement with his scrummaging and ball-carrying heroics.
Indeed, Coetzee himself subsequently hailed Marx and Kitshoff as two world-class players that South African rugby has to manage well in the lead-up to the 2019 World Cup.
One month later, and the Boks are in Dublin preparing for a crucial fixture against Ireland. Mtawarira is back in the mix, and appears set to resume his role as the Boks’ starting loosehead.
Yet something is different. Kitshoff’s performance against the All Blacks gave Coetzee and the Bok coaching staff reason to believe that the 25-year-old Kitshoff has what it takes to wear the No 1 jersey.
Mtawarira is not one for long speeches or controversial statements. His message was clear, though, when he spoke of the challenge that awaits at Avivia Stadium on Saturday.
Tighthead Tadhg Furlong was one of the stars for the British & Irish Lions in the Test series played in New Zealand earlier this year. This weekend, he will line up against Mtawarira in what should be a game-shaping contest at the scrum.
‘I watched Furlong when he played for the Lions against the All Blacks,’ Mtawarira said. ‘He did very well and I have huge respect for him. He’s made his mark and is the best tighthead up north. I’m looking forward to the challenge on Saturday.
‘Overall, the team is in a good space with regards to the scrum. It’s about continuous improvement, though. We’re really pushing each other and have a great scrummaging culture in the team.
‘We’re not there, as a pack, to set up the next phase and go through the motions. We want to dominate.’
Bok scrum coach Matt Proudfoot agreed that Furlong would be a key player for Ireland this Saturday, and that the set pieces could influence the result.
‘Set phases are crucial,’ Proudfoot began. ‘We learned that the hard way in Albany when we lost five lineouts [and ultimately the game 57-0].
‘If you don’t compete well there you’re not going to be able to control the game. I often refer to the scrum as the swim in the triathlon. If you come out of the swim 10th, you’re not going to win the triathlon. You might not win games via a scrum, but you’ll definitely lose games with a weak scrum.
‘Furlong has a good low body position and stays square at the scrum. He’s very well coached by Ireland scrum coach Greg Feek. So it’s going to be a challenge for us.
‘The fact that he’s got Rory Best next to him, an experienced hooker, is significant. A front row works as a unit. On your ball, the relationship between a hooker and a tighthead is crucial.
‘From our point of view, the longer Beast and Malcolm Marx play together, or the longer the both of them play together with Ruan Dreyer or Coenie Oosthuizen, the better. It’s a bit like cricket, you have to be in the middle to get better. Experience helps you to grow as a combination,’ Proudfoot added.
‘You’ve got to be at the coalface. You’ve got to be dealing with those problems in a match situation. You can’t address them on a scrum machine in training. When it’s man-on-man, that’s when you get to see how good a player is. And in that respect Furlong has really impressed.’
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