Former Springbok props Gurthro Steenkamp and BJ Botha, with ex-assistant coach Matt Proudfoot break down how South Africa’s set piece has become unstoppable force.
Speaking to BBC Sport, they emphasised the work put into the Boks’ scrumming power while shedding light on how the Bomb Squad has reshaped the pack’s dominance.
“South Africa sees the scrum as a place to enforce ourselves,” said Botha, a 2007 World Cup winner. “It’s where we’re allowed to be physical and dominate players legally, setting the tone for the game. When we scrum, we scrum to dominate.”
Steenkamp, also a 2007 World Cup winner and now La Rochelle’s scrum coach, attributes the prowess to South Africa’s early focus on scrumming skills.
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“At my old school, they start developing the finer techniques as early as 14 or 15,” he said. “That attention to detail prepares players for the real scrum battles at 15 or 16.”
Proudfoot, who helped coach the Bok scrum during their victorious 2019 World Cup campaign, recalled how they crafted the iconic Bomb Squad.
“We knew Beast [Tendai Mtawarira] was the most destructive, so we built the starters around him. [Malcolm] Marx and [Steven] Kitshoff, our finishers, were the power,” he explained.
“It was like taking the shine off the ball in cricket – first disrupt, then overpower.”
Proudfoot also highlighted the passion the back row brings to every scrum: “Once they feel momentum shift, they go. Duane [Vermeulen] was like that, and now Kwagga Smith and Jasper Wiese bring that drive, embedding the culture in every set piece.”
Photo: @Springboks/Twitter
The post ‘Bok scrum is where SA dominates’ appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Src: sarugbymag.co.za
