Since the departure of Springboks Ruan Nortje and Wilco Louw, one of the biggest questions facing the Vodacom Bulls at the moment is just how well their scrum will go under pressure this season.
They still have front row Springboks Gerhard Steenekamp and Jan-Hendrik Wessels, hooker Johan Grobbelaar and veteran hooker Akker van der Merwe on their books, but at tighthead in particular, there is some concern for the season.
The Bulls scrum was one of their attacking weapons last season, and the loss of possibly the strongest tighthead in world rugby in Louw is a massive one.
Nortje’s work rate in the lineout had been partially replicated by Rynhardt Ludwig this past week in the big win against Zebre, while former SA under-20 captain JF van Heerden will also fight for the five jersey.
But at tighthead there is a bigger gap between Louw and those behind him. Francois Kloppers came along in leaps and bounds last season; Khutha Mchunu and Mornay Smith are also in the squad, and the Bulls recruited SA under-20 tighthead Mawande Mdanda to join them this season.
As they passed the initial test against Zebre Parma this past weekend, in a lopsided game which the Bulls won 47-13, there wasn’t much of a scrum test to look forward to. But this coming Saturday against Munster in Limerick, there will be a bigger test, and the Bulls need to be ready for it.
'A LOT OF HARD YARDS'
To his credit, coach Johan Ackermann wasn’t sugar-coating the scrum when asked about it after the Zebre win - it is clear that it is an area that still needs a lot of work, and the Bulls will need to get through this weekend before they can welcome back some of their Springbok front row players to bolster the team.
“Yeah, I mean, the tighthead played really well, put in a lot of hard yards, and from a pack point of view, very pleased. And as you mentioned, we had reasonable success in our own lineouts, and we stole a couple of balls, so that's good. The scrum was a bit mixed. We started really well first off, and then in the second half we conceded a few penalties, so that's a big work-on for us. You know, you're not always going to have the luxury of a scoreboard like tonight, so that's a big work-on for us and things we can really improve.
“Yeah, I mean, the tight five played really well, put in a lot of hard yards, and from a pack point of view, I was very pleased,” Ackermann said.
“And like you mentioned, we had reasonable success in our own line-outs, and we stole a couple of balls, so that's good. The scrum was a bit mixed. We started really well first off, and then in the second half we conceded a few penalties, so that's a big work-on for us. You know, you're not always going to have the luxury of a scoreboard like tonight, so that's a big work-on for us and things we can really improve.”
Smith picked up a twisted ankle and there has been no word from the Bulls if he is available for Munster, but Kloppers is likely to start the game and then it is who will back him up. Considering the Bulls struggled particularly in the second half, this would have been a massive work-on for the side in the week and it will be interesting to see how they do with a tougher opposition pack to face them.
The Bulls will name their side on Thursday.