Loosehead prop Ox Nche will lay it all on the line to help the Springboks defend the Webb Ellis Cup, and is relishing the set-piece battle with Scotland and Ireland.
Nche was on Tuesday named by Jacques Nienaber as one of 10 players in a 33-man Bok squad set to make their first appearance at the World Cup, kicking off in France in September.
He hasn’t featured for the Boks yet in 2023 after a pectoral injury picked up during a training session ruled him out of the truncated Rugby Championship and warm-up match in Argentina.
But, the 28-year-old is expected to feature against Wales and New Zealand, in Cardiff and London respectively, over the upcoming two weekends before formidable Pool B clashes with Scotland and Ireland awaits.
Speaking with reporters after the Bok squad announcement in Randburg, the 19-Test Bloemfontein-born prop told Rugby365: “Obviously set-piece wise our biggest challenge will come from Scotland and Ireland. It might very well be WP Nel and Pierre Schoeman and I know them well. It will be a good challenge.
“They scrum well as a pack and we will have to find a way to break them down.
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“The same with Ireland. Tactically they are good, they have tactics, they have a solid pack. I think this is probably their most well-balanced Irish pack with guys like Andrew Porter and Tadhg Furlong.
“They have been at the top of their game for quite a few years and we get to play them at Leinster [in the United Rugby Championship] as well. They are quality props.”
He added: “Even if they [the Bok coaches] chop and change, our scrum has always maintained their consistency because we always help each other, even if we are competing for the same position.
“It is a matter of, if you get better, I get better.”
On what it will mean for him to represent his country on the grandest stage of rugby, Nche said: “There are a lot of emotions running through me. I am proud, nervous, excited. I can’t describe it, it still feels unreal.
“For me honestly, it is to give it my best. Being the best player I can be. It’s all or nothing. It’s the highest level of rugby I will ever get to play, or anyone ever gets to play.
“So for me, it is showcasing my highest level of performance and my potential and just letting it out on display really.”
Photo: Wikus de Wet/AFP