Time for Stormers to back Neethling Fouché as the starting tighthead prop

Comment by Leighton Koopman

The Stormers will need a solid set-piece platform on Saturday from which they can launch their deadly attacking game plan, and Neethling Fouché as the starting tighthead can provide that during scrum time.

While it remains a difficult decision between him and double World Cup winner Frans Malherbe, how Fouché has gone this season in the absence of Malherbe warrants him taking the No 3 jersey over the more senior statesman.

The Stormers will take on Irish province Connacht in Galway (6.05pm kick-off, SA time) as they bid to secure a quarter-final spot in the United Rugby Championship.

The Cape side currently occupy fifth place, and a win should seal their fate in the play-offs. But if they are to dominate, the scrums must be the platform they exploit.

You don’t have to look too far back to see Fouché’s impact in the Stormers’ scrum than last weekend against the Dragons in Newport.

Things didn’t go the way of the visitors in the first half, and there were a few baffling calls from the officials when the set piece went down.

But when the 31-year-old took the field alongside veteran Brok Harris, the Stormers started walking the home side backwards in the scrums.

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And it has gone like that for every other side that scrummed against Fouché this season – even Springbok and former Stormers captain Steven Kitshoff came second when Ulster played in Cape Town and Fouché packed down opposite him.

That 80-minute shift he put in against the Sharks in February – putting them under pressure until the final whistle – is another highlight that few tightheads in the modern game can brag about.

Mostly an understudy to Malherbe during his time in Cape Town, he well and truly stepped out of the Springbok’s shadow and established himself as the first-choice three this season.

And there is no reason Dobson shouldn’t back him to do duty as the main man for the rest of the campaign and have Malherbe play the understudy this time around.

It was understandable when the Bok No 3 came back from a long-term injury that he should start. You don’t want your first choice to go down with an early injury and have a returnee play for 75 minutes.

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So, it was the right call to have Fouché coming off the bench while also giving him some sort of break from the mammoth weekly shifts he had to put in to get Malherbe match fit.

But the Stormers are in the end-game now, and it’s time to select their in-form players to give them the best chance of qualifying strongly for the play-offs.

Fouché should be their go-to guy to start the next couple of clashes to help provide an attacking platform at the scrums.

This will allow the backline to get into the game earlier with their attacks to put opponents under pressure, without having their backs against the wall late in the game.