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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. “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], are beasts — absolute beasts. “Every time you scrum against them — and each one of them is different — you learn a different skill. “It’s not just the technical aspect … being switched on every time is important, and I learn this in these sessions. Going to that dark place is something I’ve learnt a lot from in this environment.”Porthen said making training as tough as possible is 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, who plays for the Stormers, said he has grown considerably since making his Springbok debut 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 it’s intense. It’s not the same as your union; it’s a different calibre.”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. — Zach PorthenPorthen picked up his next two caps on the end-of-year tour against Italy and Wales. For all that Porthen has improved, he admitted that scrummaging is a skill that props have to continue learning to keep mastering it. “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 are so many things in terms of scrummaging that you could neglect one, master another and then neglect that again. “Just to try and be on top of it all the time is what we 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 are happy to help each other improve. “After a lot of the scrum sessions, we 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.”
