The Hollywoodbets Sharks host Stade Toulousain at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in a third match of the Investec Champions Cup group stage on Saturday, ready for what is going to be an exciting forward battle.
For Ox Nche, fronting up against a number of French internationals that Toulouse is bringing for this game is a challenge he acknowledges and relishes.
Last week, Antoine Dupont, Thomas Ramos, Peato Mauvaka, Emmanuel Meafou, Francois Cros, and Romain Ntamack were rested for the Top 14 fixture against La Rochelle and it remains to be seen if all of these Test players will be unleashed on the Sharks at Kings Park, but if they are, they will be fresh for what should be an almighty physical fight.
The Sharks should have all their Springboks available apart from Andre Esterhuizen who will be sidelined following an injury against the Stormers while Aphelele Fassi's return is still to be decided on.
“French rugby is very much about the scrum set-piece, and Toulouse are probably the best team currently on their form,” he explains.
“They are very adaptable, they are happy to try new tricks but they have a system that works for them and won’t stray too much from what they do.
“They’re really strong and when you think you’ve beaten them in one scrum, they come back at the next one, so it’s going to be a really good scrumming challenge, one I’m looking forward to.”
With the number of internationals on both sides, this match takes on similar proportions to a test match between the Springboks and France, something that he is no stranger to.
“They have a lot of internationals and so do we, they play with French flair, they have a good set-piece and they want to dominate their opponents physically,” he says in describing their opponents.
“We will have to bring some of our expertise on what to expect and how we played against France. We’ve played against a lot of those guys, so there’s a lot of French rugby DNA and South African Rugby DNA.
“It’s going to be a big and very exciting challenge.”
On a personal level, a match of these proportions, playing on the biggest franchise rugby stage against the six-time winners, the tournament’s most successful side in history, he accepts the huge challenge that lies ahead for his team.
“They’re the current champions and they are on form, having won two out of two in the competition, winning home and away, so they’ve shown their quality. They’re bringing a full-strength side to South Africa, I think it’s going to be exciting.
“I enjoy testing myself against the best in the world, and for me, that’s the assumption this week.
“There aren’t a lot of teams who come close to how Toulouse play, their free-flowing game, dominant set-piece and the way they gel together.
“I think this is going to be one of the most exciting games we’re going to be playing this season.”
Given the quality of the opposition’s pack at scrum-time, Nche admits that they have their work cut out for them this weekend.
“We’ve struggled with our scrum for a few matches with a lot of youngsters coming in and out because of all the injuries we’ve suffered.
“But we have grown quite a bit since then, we know we have to man-up and we’re ready for the challenge.”