URC scrum battle: Sharks’ powerhouse front row faces disciplined Lions challenge

The Sharks head into this weekend’s United Rugby Championship clash with the Lions expecting a ferocious battle at the set-piece.

The statistics highlight why this facet of the game will be so decisive. The Sharks' scrum currently rank among the elite in the competition, with 32 penalties won. The Lions are also right up there among the best teams, but have won only 11 scrum penalties.

While the Sharks boast Springboks such as Ox Nche and Vincent Koch in their front row, the Durban side know the Lions won't be a pushover when it comes to the scrum.

"They’ve got unbelievable players and you can clearly see they’re scrumming as a pack together," Koch said.

"Someone like Julian [Redelinghuys] was an unbelievable scrummager ... he knows how important that scrum is and what it means to the rest of the players. If you get a reward at the scrums, it's so much easier for the backs to play on that advantage."

While they had a two-week break, the Sharks are coming off an almighty scrum battle with the Stormers, who gave as good as they got.

Koch admitted their scrum is far from perfect, but, when it all comes together, is the massive weapon for them to create energy in the team.

"We’ve learned a lot from the Springboks where it gives the rest of the team so much energy if you dominate," Koch explained.

"It was a mental shift for us. We’re not perfect yet — we gave away some soft penalties in the last few weeks — but we strive to be the best. We have a clear mindset that we want to dominate for the full 80 minutes," the veteran Springbok prop added.