A 'chubby kid who can run a bit' is going to the Rugby World Cup

Retshegofaditswe ‘Tshego’ Nche, better known as Ox, was born a month after South Africa hosted and won the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Now the burly friendly prop is about to get on the plane for his very first World Cup.

Rugby365 sat down with Nche a few minutes after the Springboks World Cup squad was announced on Tuesday and the players were capped. The first obvious question was how the emotions were going inside that big chest wrapped in the squad blazer.

“There are a lot of emotions running through me. I am proud, nervous, excited. I can’t describe it, it still feels unreal,” the big man said. He had only heard he was included in the final squad of 33 that same day and it was clear that the news had not yet properly sunk in. “I haven’t spoken to the family yet. I just spoke to my little sister, but I haven’t called them.”

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber outlining the rotation policy

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber outlining the rotation policy

Nche spoke candidly about his expectations for the World Cup. There was a time when he might not even have thought he would make it after he got injured during the training weeks in Pretoria earlier in the year ahead of The Rugby Championship.

“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.”

Nche said the preparation work is done and he is well aware of the challenges he will face come scrum time. “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.

“The same with Ireland. Tactically they are good, they have tactics, they have a solid pack. 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 URC) as well. They are quality props.”

In terms of South Africa’s pack of forwards, Nche felt that even when rotation takes place, the Boks scrum remains strong. “Even if they 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.”

The Sharks prop is not just known for his antics in the engine room where few dare to go, but on occasion he has been mistaken for being a wing were it not for the number one on his back. He loves to refer to himself as “the chubby kid who could run a bit” and from time to time he tries to reinvent himself as a wing or a scrum-half, taking off and catching everyone off-guard.

Weighing in at around 117kgs, Nche made his Springboks debut in 2018. The always-smiling 28-year-old, who enjoys sharing his love of cake with his Twitter followers and has built a clothing business called The Ox Kraal, has racked up more than 130 games for the Cheetahs and Sharks, as well as 15 Test caps.

In 2021 he received a bachelor of science degree in geography and statistics from the University of the Free State, where he made his breakthrough as a rugby player.