Scrum like a masterpiece: A contest worthy of the Louvre

I’ve never seen the Mona Lisa in person, although – while cruising down the Seine under grey skies on an early autumn day, a light sprinkle of rain collecting on my brow – I did see the Louvre.

There are over 500 000 works stored in that Parisian landmark, Leonardo da Vinci's enigmatic portrait just one of the 35 000 items on permanent display.

One day, if I am lucky – if the Rand allows it – I hope to look upon it and appreciate the masterpiece.

If you ever make it to Oslo, be sure to visit the Munch Museum, where you can stare into the distress of The Scream, or wonder at the intimacy of Love and Pain.

Some 5km away, the Viking Ship Museum presents one of the most well-preserved vessels of its kind.

It is beautiful to look upon – the craftsmanship a thousand years old – yet still translating through the ages the care and pride of the workmanship.

In the British Museum, hidden away in a corner of the African section, beyond the idealised Greek sculptures and the verism of their Roman counterparts, you can sit and admire the Benin Bronzes, looted in the late 19th century by the British when they sacked that kingdom.

Clearly, all these things deserve to be on display, preserved for posterity and enjoyed by the public.

On Saturday night, at Loftus Versfeld, there was a similar anticipation built around the scrum.

It was an all-Springbok front row that did battle in the United Rugby Championship semi-final between the Bulls and the Sharks – one that included Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Johan Grobbelaar and Wilco Louw for the Bulls, with Ox Nché, Bongi Mbonambi and Vincent Koch packing down for the Sharks opposite them.

It was enough to make any rugby fan salivate.

Pre-match speculation identified the importance of the department throughout the week. The tussle between Louw – arguably the best South African player of the tournament, despite what the URC might tell you – and Nché – the No 1 ranked player in the URC’s Top 100 – was especially touted as a key match-up.

After all, the Bulls have been rated by the URC as the best scrummaging unit in the tournament. The much-vaunted Sharks pack, surprisingly, less so – eighth, if the competition stats are to be believed.

Before the match, the Bulls had a 94% success rate at the set-piece, compared to the Sharks’ 89%. The Bulls had also won the most penalties from the set-piece, with the Sharks not far behind in fifth.

That proved to be a fair reflection on the night, as the Bulls mostly dominated in the department, winning a couple more penatlies. In particular, The tight-head they affected in the sixth minute while defending their tryline was of the highest quality – a moment worthy of a chef’s kiss that locked out a threatening moment from the Sharks.

With the match in the balance and the Sharks’ tails up in the third quarter, they struck back by driving their hosts backwards – the powerful Ntuthuko Mchunu and Fezokuhle Mbatha tipping the balance back in their team’s favour. It was a clear indication that they held the momentum in play, if not yet on the scoreboard – trailing as they were 18–13 at the time.

It was a rock-solid contest. The Bulls had the upper hand for most of the game, though they would have been frustrated by the scant reward they received.

One of the loudest pops of the evening from the 47 214 fans crammed into Loftus, in the 25–13 victory for the Bulls, came from the final scrum – when the hosts won their second penalty at the set-piece, shutting out any last-minute jitters the Sharks could engineer.

Since the conclusion of Rugby World Cup 2023 in France, World Rugby have done their utmost to depower the scrum. But on Saturday – watching the battle unfold, shaping the belief of each team and cycling back to reinforce that belief – was a pleasure to witness.

If I could, I would hang it in the Louvre.