There’s an old saying in South African rugby circles: “Respect the pack or be rolled by it.” And if you listened closely on Monday, you’d have heard echoes of that adage bouncing off the concrete walls of Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria as the Springboks began preparations for their first Castle Lager Incoming Series clash — a scrum-heavy skirmish against a hungry Italian side this Saturday.
Italy may wear the underdog’s coat, stitched with the threads of a world No. 10 ranking, but the Springboks aren’t fooled by numbers. They know better than to misread the strength of a storm by the colour of the clouds.
We do not underestimate any side. Italy are very focused on their forward play, so it will be a proper Test match.
And in rugby, a “proper Test” starts up front — with knuckles in the dirt, jaws clenched, and hearts beating to the rhythm of the hit. Human, a seasoned craftsman of the dark arts of the scrum, has been sharpening his pack like a set of steel ploughs for this precise kind of contest.
Unlike the Barbarians, who do not play regularly, Italy do. So we will be facing a proper Test team on Saturday. They were very competitive in their first two Six Nations matches, and they have a 93% scrum completion rate — that says a lot about that area of their game.
Italy’s forward pack isn’t just sturdy; it’s calculated, disciplined, and dangerous.
Human pointed to their four scrum penalties and a penalty try against Namibia as more than statistical noise — they were warning shots.
We’re not sure who they’ll play in the pack this weekend, but we know it’ll be a good contest.
And contests like this are won or lost long before kickoff — often in the quiet, dusty corners of rugby’s unseen grind. For Jan-Hendrik Wessels, the Springboks’ bulldozing utility forward who dotted down a try against the Barbarians, that prep work meant trading city lights for the crackle of Free State gravel — on Daan Human’s farm.
It’s the small things that make one a better player. Although it was tough, I really enjoyed it.
Human, who believes in developing scrummagers through instinct, not just machines, said their rural rendezvous focused on sharpening both mindset and muscle.
Our focus was firstly to ensure they’re conditioned to scrum well, and we also worked on the fundamentals. I’ve always said you don’t scrum against a machine on the field — so we use techniques that build better scrummagers in general.
That hard-earned knowledge will be tested in the coliseum of Loftus, where altitude nips at the lungs and the crowd roars like rolling thunder. And Wessels, whether wearing the hooker’s harness or binding as a prop, is ready to throw himself into the maelstrom.
I don’t have a preference. I just want to contribute wherever I am picked. And as much as I feel for Gerhard (Steenekamp) after his injury, having to play both positions have helped me grow and get more game time.
Wessels has seen enough of Italy’s rising stock to know the Springboks won’t be wading into shallow waters.
I faced Zebre Parma and Benetton in the URC, and we did our homework on those players then. Zebre had one of their best seasons and beat a few big teams, so we’re expecting a proper battle.
“Setting a high standard for ourselves” is the Springbok creed, and Wessels believes the set pieces — that sacred domain of the forwards — must be where they plant their flag.
We have massive respect for all the teams we face. And knowing how strong their scrums are, we really want to make a big impact up front.
That impact will thunder into Loftus on Saturday at 17h10, with the eyes of the rugby world watching. And as Rassie Erasmus prepares to name his matchday squad on Tuesday, you can be sure of one thing — South Africa’s green-and-gold warhorses are not just preparing for a game. They’re preparing for a trench war, where every ruck is a wrestling match, and every scrum, a clash of ancient titans.
Because in this game, the front row is not where plays begin. It’s where legacies are forged.
