Prop Zach Porthen is relishing the chance to test himself against Argentina’s formidable scrum as he prepares to earn his sixth Test cap in Saturday’s one-off clash in Buenos Aires.
The 22-year-old has impressed so far this season, and was especially impressive with ball-in-hand during his cameos off the bench against England and Scotland in the Nations Championship. He will once again provide impact from the Springbok bench, but says his focus remains firmly on improvement rather than getting caught up in the occasion.
“You’re always trying to better every aspect of your game,” said Porthen.
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“Before every training session, I put my head on one or two things. I’ll say today I want to get better at this and that, and I try to be consistent to improve in every single training session.”
Porthen identified the scrum as the area where he wants to make the biggest impact against Los Pumas.
“The biggest place where I want to get my foot in the ground is at scrum time. So I’m just hoping I can enforce a bit there and just keep improving day in and day out at scrum time.”
Despite Argentina’s long-standing reputation as one of world rugby’s strongest scrummaging sides, the young front-rower insists he is treating the challenge like any other.
“I haven’t really put too much thought into that specifically. I’m just trying to keep the main thing, the main thing. I just see this as the obstacle we’re facing this week and the opportunity, then take it one week at a time.”
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Porthen credits the Springbok environment for helping him settle quickly at Test level.
“You don’t really feel like you’re being thrown in the deep end because the guys around you set you up for success. The coaching staff and the players guide you through the journey. Obviously there is pressure in wanting to make your country and your family proud, but the players around you really give you confidence.”
The tighthead also believes building a strong partnership with loosehead Jan-Hendrik Wessels has strengthened the Bok scrum.
“I’ve started getting used to Jan. I feel very comfortable with him and throughout this week we’ve connected in terms of scrummaging. I feel safe being on his right-hand side and we also scrum against phenomenal players. I get to scrum against Boan Venter at training, so that sets me up very well for the Test against Argentina, which I’m very excited for.”
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Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
The post Porthen eyes enforcer role against Los Pumas appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Prop Zach Porthen is relishing the chance to test himself against Argentina’s formidable scrum as he prepares to earn his sixth Test cap in Saturday’s one-off clash in Buenos Aires.
The post Porthen eyes enforcer role against Los Pumas appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
