Bok scrumming sessions take props to dark places, says Zach Porthen

Springbok scrum training sessions are so intense that props are taken to dark places, says Zach Porthen, who is set to earn his fourth Test cap off the bench against England on Saturday.

But the 22-year-old said these had improved him technically and mentally.

“I think it’s almost easy to say that a scrum session is tougher than what you’ll expect in the game because Ox [Nché], Gerhard [Steenekamp], Boan [Venter], all of them are beasts — absolute beasts.

“Every time you scrum against them — and each one of them are different as well — you learn a different skill every time.

“And it’s not just the technical aspect. Like I said earlier, being switched on every single time is important, and I learn this in these sessions. I think going to that dark place is something I’ve learned a lot from in these environments.”

Porthen, speaking ahead of the Test at Ellis Park that forms part of the opening round of the inaugural Nations Championship, said making training as tough as possible was the aim of scrum coach Daan Human.

“Coach Daan tries to simulate getting into that dark space and trying to make it more intense than what a game is.

“That way, when it comes to game time, we are not shocked by the intensity or what you go through.”

Porthen, the former Junior Boks captain who plays for the Stormers, said he felt he had grown considerably since making his first appearance for the Springboks against Japan in November last year.

“In this environment you’re with the best of the best and every day you’re picking their brains, learning this, learning that, and you obviously get better. I feel more competent because of the small things you learn from a Thomas du Toit, a Wilco Louw.

“From a technical aspect I’ve grown a lot, but also mentally. That mental strength that comes with the training at the Springboks because obviously it’s intense. It’s not the same as your union, it’s a different calibre.”

Porthen picked up his next two caps on the end-of-year tour in matches against Italy and Wales.

For all that Porthen has improved, he admitted that scrumming was a skill that props had to continue learning to keep mastering.

“You mature with age, you get better with age. But I spoke to some of the guys today and I heard them say even they haven’t figured it out so that kind of tells me you’re never going to have it all down. But you just keep at it because there’s so many things in terms of scrumming that you could neglect one, master another and then neglect that again.

After a lot of the scrum sessions, we actually like to get together as props and just talk about what’s happened or we’ll go through the video footage.

—  Zachary Porthen

“I think just to try and be on top of it all the time is what us props are trying to do.”

While the props are competing for places in the Springbok team, and sometimes against one another once they return to their provincial franchises, the tighthead said they were happy to help each other improve.

“After a lot of the scrum sessions, we actually like to get together as props and just talk about what’s happened or we’ll go through the video footage.

“It’s not even just getting help from the loosehead. Tightheads are obviously competing, but we all understand the bigger picture, which is for South Africa to win, so we come together and we help each other as well.

“It’s not just a tighthead helping a loosehead or a loosehead helping a tighthead, it’s also tightheads helping other tightheads.”