If ever you needed proof that the scrum can still be a mighty weapon in the game of rugby, it was provided in the Champions Cup final in Marseille.
Despite being up against Ireland props Tadgh Furlong and Andrew Porter, La Rochelle got well on top in the tight, keeping Leinster on the back foot during a thrilling 24-21 triumph.
While much of the credit for their first European trophy has rightly gone to head coach Ronan O’Gara, one shouldn’t underestimate the contribution of their scrum doctor. Tellingly, given the challenge facing Wales this summer, he is a South African - former Springboks prop Gurthro Steenkamp, a man who earned 53 caps on the loosehead and was part of the 2007 World Cup-winning squad.
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It once again provides evidence that if you want to learn about scrummaging, it’s not a bad idea to turn to a ‘Bok. Next month, it will be Wayne Pivac’s Welsh team who will face up to such a lesson, amid the stern examination of a three-Test series in the Rainbow Nation in July.
Scrummaging is very much part of the DNA of South African rugby, where the physical confrontation has always been savoured and embraced. They enjoy few things more than dominating in that department. If anything, it has become even more important to them in recent times, amid the emergence of the Bomb Squad, which played such a key role in the World Cup triumph out in Japan in 2019. That was a concept based on delivering unrelenting forward power by utilising a bench stacked with fresh beasts.
A big part of it is having two sets of real top-quality front row forwards, so that when one unit has emptied the tank another can join the fray early in the second half to renew the onslaught. At times, you could argue the trio coming on were actually stronger than the starting group. But whatever combination they go for, there is no respite. That is the huge challenge which now lies ahead for Wales in a series which takes in Tests in Pretoria, Bloemfontein and Cape Town.
So who exactly will they be up against? Well if they are all fit, you will likely have Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi and Trevor Nyakane as one unit, with Steven Kitshoff, Malcolm Marx and Frans Malherbe - a man who lives for the scrum - as another. Talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire.
Now there are availability question marks over a couple of them, with Racing 92 prop Nyakane having been recently sidelined, while hooker Marx missed the end of the Japanese season with Kubota Spears and has been rehabbing back home.
But, even if they do miss out, their replacements wouldn’t be too shabby. Vincent Koch has been one of the outstanding tightheads in English club rugby in recent years, doing untold damage to opposition front rows in the scrum. Then at hooker, you’ve got Bordeaux’s Joseph Dweba who is heading home to join the Stormers, while Johan Grobbelaar has made a real impact with the Bulls in the United Rugby Championship.
So wherever you turn, there is no let-up. Moreover, the last time Wales played South Africa, it proved to be a very long day at the scrum office. Back in November at the Principality Stadium, they conceded a succession of penalties in that area, which ultimately cost them dear as they went down to a 23-18 defeat.
On that occasion, it was Nche, Mbonambi and Nyakane who did the initial softening up, with Kitshoff, Marx and Koch coming on after 45 minutes to inflict yet more pain. It was simply unrelenting. The visitors dominated, the hosts disintegrated, with that scrum superiority playing a big part in the ‘Boks seeing off what was overall a brave effort from Pivac’s team. Now there is more of the same on the horizon.
So the question is: how do Wales cope this summer? Who do they go for in the front five - both starters and finishers - to give them the best chance of surviving the perpetual pummelling?
The way the ‘Boks keep arguably their strongest scrummaging unit in reserve on the bench does pose a real dilemma. Do you follow suit or not? The problem is their marginally less potent trio is still more than a match for most first-string opposition. You could make a case for them possessing the two best front rows in the world.
So if you keep your prime scrummagers up your sleeve, the 'Boks could be over the hill and out of sight by the time they enter the field. Realistically then, you would imagine Wales will start with their top tight trio in the first Test at Loftus Versfeld to try and give them a platform to stay in the contest for as long as possible. But just what that is remains a matter of conjecture.
The one position where there is not too much debate is tighthead prop. Tomas Francis probably hasn’t had the plaudits he deserves for what he has done during his 64-cap Test career. Yet, in many ways, he is just as important to Wales as Adam Jones was in his pomp. The man born and raised in Yorkshire, who qualifies through a grandmother from Abercrave, has been the cornerstone of the scrum for some six or seven years now, quietly going about his business.
Thankfully, he opted to make the move from Exeter to the Ospreys last summer to continue his international career because he really is such an important figure. He is a battle-hardened Test campaigner now and, if anything, he is more up to speed than usual in terms of regular game-time, having started 14 matches at regional level, whereas he was often on bench duty down in Devon.
As for his back-up on tour, Leon Brown remains an injury doubt, while both he and fellow squad tighthead Dillon Lewis were limited to just five starts for the Dragons and Cardiff respectively this term. They both offer a lot around the park, with Brown a powerful carrier and Lewis excellent over the ball. But in terms of providing the scrummaging bedrock, it is Francis who will be the main man and Wales will be hoping to get a good hour out of him in each of the Tests.
In contrast to that straightforward selection, it is much harder to know what Pivac and forwards coach Jonathan Humphreys will go with on the loosehead. That is one of a number of the positions where there has been a revolving door policy of late.
It was Wyn Jones who started the season there on the back of finishing the Lions tour of South Africa as first choice, showing up well in the final Test before a trapped nerve in his back forced his departure. But after getting the nod against New Zealand in October, he was then dropped to the bench for the matches against South Africa and Fiji, with Pivac saying he had work to do to get to the fitness levels required to play international rugby.
That meant a couple of starts for Rhys Carre, but he shared in the creaking against the ‘Boks, and by the final game of the autumn, Jones was back in pole position for the victory over Australia. Come the Six Nations, there was a further twist, with Carre slipping out of the frame as Gareth Thomas came up to end the Championship as the starting loosehead ahead of the once-again benched Jones.
So who now gets the vote to face the ‘Boks? Well, there are a couple of recent factors to take into consideration. For one thing, the 43-cap Jones underwent knee surgery in April, while he was limited to just three starts for the Scarlets during an injury-plagued season. We wait to learn just where he is fitness-wise.
There is also the fact that Carre was one of the real form players in Welsh rugby over the last month or so of the season, shining brightly in a struggling Cardiff side. The powerful ball-carrying which first marked him out as a player of such potential was there front and centre, but what was also noticeable was how his scrummaging had moved up a level. He has clearly benefited from getting the kind of run of games which has been pretty rare in his young career, and what is also rare is his sheer size.
As Cardiff boss Dai Young said: “We talk in Wales about not having big men, but he is a genuine big man.” So will that see him return to favour for the meeting with the ‘Boks in a bid to match up to them in terms of physicality and bulk? Has he done enough to show that he is able to withstand the daunting scrummaging contest that lies ahead?
Might Pivac stick instead with the man in possession in the hard-working Gareth Thomas, whose all-round game has come on so much over the last couple of years? Or will he bank on the international credentials of Jones, who did show on last summer’s Lions tour of South Africa that he can hold his own against the ‘Boks at his best? If he is fully fit, it could well be that he joins Francis in a nod to the propping pairing which played such an important part in the 2021 Six Nations title triumph, provided vital solidity and stability.
As for the man in the middle, Dewi Lake was one of the big plusses to come out of an otherwise disappointing Six Nations. There has never been any doubt over what he offers in terms of his carrying and jackal-work at the breakdown. The Achilles heel was his lineout throwing. But with that issue resolved, he now looks the absolute real deal. He is also a sizeable lump to add scrummaging ballast to the front row. It could be that this is the moment to install him as first choice, with the injury doubt over regular recent starter Ryan Elias adding to the mix.
Finally, there are the second-rows, the men providing the building blocks behind the front row. It is a safe bet that Adam Beard, Alun Wyn Jones and Will Rowlands will be the locks in the Test 23, but how they are utilised remains a bit up in the air. It was really tough on Rowlands to miss out on starting against Italy having been arguably Wales’ player of the Six Nations, and fast-tracking Alun Wyn back into the side after no rugby in five months didn’t work out. But now it is Rowlands who is battling to recover from injury, while Jones has had more game time, so it might be that you see the Ospreys duo in tandem.
Whatever combination Pivac goes with, though, it is going to be a huge challenge at the scrum and one which will last for the full 80 minutes, with defusing the Bomb Squad being one of the toughest tasks in the game today.
