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Springboks prop talent pool excites Proudfoot

Springboks assistant coach Matt Proudfoot likes what he sees in the SA prop talent pool and he says this bodes well for the future.

Coach Allister Coetzee has no complaints in the department at the moment and Frans Malherbe‚ Coenie Oosterhuizen‚ Steven Kitshoff‚ Ruan Dreyer‚ Lizo Gqoboka and the experienced Tendai Mtawarira are among the props he has at his disposal.

Proudfoot said there are about six dynamic props in the system.

“I am privileged that in the current team‚ I have about six props who have dynamic personalities and are driving the system‚" he said.

"There are also a couple of other younger guys who are really quality and this bodes very well for South African rugby.

Proudfoot also dismissed criticism of Beast Mrawarira.

“First of all to say that a guy with 90 caps is past his best is crazy in my opinion‚” he said.

“Coeni Oosthuizen is probably our next best experienced front rower and the good thing is that all the forwards that are here have been with the Springboks before.

"The youngest is Jean-Luc du Preez and he was with us in 2016.”.

The Boks assistant coach said the forward pack have been able to compete against the visiting French side because of their hard work in the camps prior to the three-Test series.

“If you look at the cold hard facts‚ it has been a tough challenge for the pack‚ especially upfront where penalties were shared evenly between the two packs.

"Scrumming against the French was always going to be a tough challenge because they were arguably the strongest scrum in the Six Nations.

"We knew it would a tough challenge but we worked with the front row on identifying areas which needed to be worked on.”

“If you understand scrummaging at this level‚ the stability around the set is paramount.

"Our philosophy is for a battle where there is pack against pack.”

Proudfoot said having an experienced player like Mtawarira‚ who is closing in on 90 Test matches for the Boks‚ is a blessing because he plays an important leadership role.

“He has passed on the knowledge to the rest of the guys and they are working together.

"The important thing from my perspective is what these guys are giving each other‚ they are investing in that platform.” - TimesLIVE

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