Comparisons are odious.
Ox Nché doesn’t say so, but he doesn’t need to in relation to his Springbok predecessor Tendai Mtawarira.
Nché has gradually emerged from the shadows over the past two years and has become a key member of the Springbok pack. He is part of a set-up endowed with depth, especially among the forwards, which has allowed the coaches to deploy two sets of players without losing output across 80 minutes.
It was part of their success at the last Rugby World Cup and it will likely form part of their battle plan in France later this year.
Nché, who turns 28 next month, could perhaps have had twice his 19 caps had there been no pandemic and Mtawarira not been such an enduring force.
Nché made his debut in Washington against Wales in 2018 but lost out because Mtawarira proved evergreen leading into the RWC. By the time the Springboks deployed their best team against Italy in the pool stages of the RWC, Mtawarira had firmed his place in the starting team.
He was to play a crucial role in the team’s surge to the title before retiring.
Given the personnel that have remained from 2019, one would have been forgiven for thinking of Nché as a like-for-like replacement for Mtawarira.
Boots to fill
“Not really,” said Nché when asked if he feels pressure filling the boots once occupied by the Boks’ Beast. “I always say it is an all-out effort. It’s not really about me.
“My role is to blast out the first 40, if I can go long I do. I’ll just keep doing that. That is my main focus, really. There is not a lot of pressure. I just have to stay fit and keep the intensity for as long as I can and then trust the next guy to do his job as well.”
And that is perhaps what the Boks are about. They need the other person who plays in the same position to deliver the same output, irrespective who starts or finishes. They are tied at the hip with the teammate in the same position in determining the team’s success or failure.
Four years after Beast departed the scene, Nché argues there has not been a significant shift in responsibility.
“My role is still the same. I’m here to serve. Even when I started here I don’t think I felt like a junior. I’ve just always been part of a squad where I roll to play off the field and on the field,” he explained.
My role is to blast out the first 40, if I can go long I do. I’ll just keep doing that. That is my main focus, really. There is not a lot of pressure
— Ox Nché
Have his wits
He will have to have his wits about him in the Boks’ opening Test against the Wallabies at Loftus next month.
The Wallabies are a crafty side. They find ways to unnerve and unsettle and present match officials with enough shades of grey to mask some of their shortfalls.
“Scrumming is a dark art, so they find a way that works for them,” said Nché. “The same with New Zealand. They do the basics and they try to show good shape and try to scrum honest.
“Australia find a plan whoever they are playing. You have your own systems and you just make small adjustments.
“I watch Super Rugby (Pacific). It is in their DNA just to find a way. The strongest scrums there are probably that of the Blues and the Crusaders and they can’t dominate Australian teams.”
Eddie Jones being back in charge of the Wallabies will likely add another layer of cunning to the Australians. “Definitely,” said Nché. “With Eddie there it is going to be a good challenge for us.”
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