Opinion: Why Springboks prop Ox Nche is a ‘clear contender’ for World Rugby Player of the Year
Springboks prop Ox Nche is one of the game's best players.
There are players who lift a team, there are players who define a phase, and then there’s Ox Nche; a loosehead prop who doesn’t just anchor scrummages, he completely weaponises them and he turns them into match changing moments.
In a game increasingly shaped by mobility, versatility, and line-speed, Nche is a reminder that rugby still begins at the set-piece and as far as modern Test rugby goes, the little destroyer is a benchmark for propping brilliance.
Nche currently ranks as the number one player in the URC Top 100, scoring 95.2 on the StatMaster xP algorithm; the highest of any player across URC, EPCR, and international rugby.
He has won 19 scrum penalties across the Rugby Championship, eight more than any other player. He’s logged 289 Test minutes in 2025, averaging 58 minutes per match, and has delivered five dominant tackles in the same period. At 123kg and 1.76m, his centre of gravity is subterranean, and that’s exactly where he wants it.
Biomechanics of a destroyer
Nche’s technique is built on brilliant and naturally intuitive biomechanical precision. He sets up low, legal, compact, and near immovable. His hips stay below shoulder level, giving him leverage without sacrificing mobility. His spine remains neutral and flat, allowing for efficient force transfer. His feet are slightly staggered, with the inside foot marginally forward, a setup that enables a diagonal drive targeting the tighthead’s chest rather than his hip, his absolute superpower.
His bind is short and tight, and rather unusually for a loosehead, he locks his elbow early and keeps his wrist rigid, preventing the tighthead from peeling him off or rotating him. His head placement (supported by a neck as wide as the Drakensberg mountains), is tucked under the tighthead’s armpit, allows him to lift and twist without exposing his own tree trunk neck. It is a precise and surgical approach to technical and legal scrummaging.
Key to his explosive power is that he initiates the shove from the hips, not the shoulders. He drives up and in, targeting the tighthead’s chest and shoulder. He doesn’t drive straight (which loosehead does?!) he drives diagonally, forcing the opposition to collapse inward or pop upward, in a technique that is all about precise and explosive manipulation over and above brute power.
His bind is a masterclass in control. He doesn’t overcommit and he never overextends. He locks in very early, perhaps in a very similar way to England’s Joe Marler used to, and lets the tighthead do the adjusting, and when the moment comes, he detonates.
Scrum psychology and tactical intelligence
Nche often chooses not to chase early dominance, rather he’ll wait as he builds pressure and he has the patience to wear opponents down. He scrums for penalties, yes, but he does so with an eight-man unit behind him, not as a solo act; key to this is he understands that he’s the fulcrum of 800kg behind him and his directional control is simply outstanding.
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He reads the referee like a fly-half reads a defensive line. If the official is favouring stability, Nche holds shape if dominance is being rewarded, and he increases the pressure very legally. And his timing is sheer perfection as he synchronises the shove with the hooker’s strike, ensuring maximum disruption.
Against England in the World Cup semi-final, he came off the bench and turned the game. England lost two scrums on their own ball, one led directly to the match-winning penalty in something akin to a controlled demolition once the English starting props had taken their exit (again, a note to Nche’s timing here).
The dark arts and the cake
Asked to explain his scrummaging secrets, Nche simply said, “That is the dark arts. It’s hard to explain.” But the truth is, he doesn’t need to explain as his technique speaks for itself.
Asked about his diet, Nche said, “Salads don’t win scrums. I count slices of cake, not calories.” For Ox, that’s simple clarity; Nche knows his role and he knows his value, a huge value that’s seen him mentioned in despatches as potentially the first prop to win the World Rugby Player of the Year in 2025. And who’d begrudge him his cake? There’s certainly few who’d be brave enough to nick a slice off him!
He doesn’t rely on brute strength alone. He uses angles, timing, and leverage, he binds short, drives diagonally, and controls the engagement with subtle adjustments and his understanding of scrum mechanics is matched only by his ability to execute under pressure.
His bind is a short-arm invitation to collapse, tight, early, and unforgiving, and when the pressure builds, the tighthead looks like he’s been asked to push a fridge uphill with a teaspoon. And he’d be right, because Nche doesn’t just win scrums, he ends arguments – and above all, he wins Test matches.
Impact
Nche is a cult figure and a cornerstone of Springbok rugby DNA. He is the reason tightheads sleep badly before Test matches and he’s is the reason referees hesitate before blowing up a scrum.
Above all, Nche is the reason South Africa can win games without the ball – and if you’re still wondering whether salads win scrums, ask the tighthead who just spent 60 minutes trying to move a man built like a fridge and shaped like a tractor.
Let’s sing his praises from the rooftops – he’s living proof that rugby is a game for all shapes and sizes – and for us, a clear contender for World Rugby Player of the Year 2025.
