How Nche plans to overcome Stormers pack and his battle with Bok Louw

Ox Nche has played down the individual battle with Springbok team-mate Wilco Louw ahead of the Sharks’ United Rugby Championship meeting with the Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday.

The two props are set to come face-to-face in a standout front-row contest of round three, should they be selected, but Nche insists the outcome will depend more on how the Sharks operate collectively than on any personal duel.

The Stormers will present a demanding test up front, with Louw among the key figures in their pack and Nche fully aware of what his fellow Springbok can bring at scrum time.

For Nche, familiarity with Louw from the Springbok environment only adds to the challenge rather than changing how he approaches the contest.

The Sharks will head to Cape Town at the summit of the URC table having picked up maximum points in victories over the Ospreys and reigning champions Leinster in the opening two rounds. The Stormers, meanwhile, will be relishing a return to South African soil having opened their campaign with a victory over Connacht in round one in Ireland followed by a loss to Edinburgh in round two in the Scottish capital.

Fixture

United Rugby Championship

Stormers

07:00

10 Oct 26

Sharks

All Stats and Data

“It’s always exciting when you go up against guys that you play with,” Nche said when speaking to the media this week. “Obviously, it’s a great challenge to play against him, but I don’t see it as a ‘me’ thing, it’s about what we can do as a pack, how well we prepare.

“We have to work together as a pack to make sure that our pack does better. I’m looking forward to the challenge, but I think our preparation will be to prepare as a pack and do things together more than anything.”

The Sharks loosehead also revealed that their preparations have centred on identifying the Stormers’ systems rather than focusing too heavily on individuals.

“We are doing our preparation according to what we’ve seen, what we think their system is. That’s what we’re preparing for and focusing on.

“If they have other plans, we’ll have to come together and make plans on the go. But we’re currently preparing for what their system is.”