Sharks braced for heavyweight scrum battle with Stormers in Cape Town URC Springbok and Sharks prop Ox Nche, left, is looking forward to the scrum challenge when they face the Stormers in their first URC derby of the season. Image: BackpagePix The Sharks’ dominant scrum performance against Leinster has given them plenty of confidence, but scrum coach Philip Lemmer knows Saturday’s Cape Town showdown with the Stormers will provide a sterner examination. The Sharks made a major statement at scrum
10/06/26 • 8 ভিউ
Springbok and Sharks prop Ox Nche, left, is looking forward to the scrum challenge when they face the Stormers in their first URC derby of the season.
The Sharks’ dominant scrum performance against Leinster has given them plenty of confidence, but scrum coach Philip Lemmer knows Saturday’s Cape Town showdown with the Stormers will provide a sterner examination.
The Sharks made a major statement at scrum time in their victory over Leinster last weekend, as well as against the Ospreys in their opening encounter, repeatedly putting pressure on their opponents and helping lay the platform for an impressive start to the season.
Now they face a Stormers pack that prides itself on exactly the same kind of physical contest.
“It’s almost like the two big brothers taking sides at scrum time,” Lemmer said ahead of Saturday’s United Rugby Championship clash at Cape Town Stadium (4pm kick-off). “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.”
The Sharks’ set piece has been one of the early highlights of their season, with Lemmer crediting the standards being driven within the squad rather than simply focusing on statistics.
“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, and that’s how everybody keeps each other accountable.”
Nche, who joined the Sharks squad after missing their pre-season preparations, believes the pack’s physicality has become a defining part of their identity.
“It’s been a pretty big focus for us to be physical,” the Springbok prop said. “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.”
That physicality will be tested by a Stormers side whose driving maul is another major weapon, despite their lineout struggles in last weekend’s loss to Edinburgh.
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