Ulster's Clarke Dermody embracing 'cool challenge' of South Africa rivals in URC
Forwards coach Clarke Dermody is bracing the Ulster pack to face the best scrummaging nation in the world as they travel to South Africa to tackle the Bulls and Stormers over the next two weeks.
The former All Black prop has experience of playing South African sides from his time as head coach at the Highlanders.
Ulster have only lost one scrum from 16 in their opening three United Rugby Championship games - while the Bulls have also lost only one from 15 but with five penalties to the province’s two.
“I think South Africans definitely are now the best scrummagers in the world,” said Dermody. “I think the work that Springboks have done in the last four or five years has definitely fed down through their whole programme, they all scrum a similar way and it's pretty destructive.
“I think it has to be a mixture of power and technique, doesn't it?
"Just the way they're doing it is just a lot of cohesion...they've got real buy-in to how they go about it and if you get it wrong then it's not going away, it's going to stay there for the whole game.
“It's going to be a cool challenge, it's been five or six years since I've been there with the Highlanders, obviously they left Super Rugby, so it's going to be a good challenge to go over and get stuck in.
“It's a great place to visit, I love going over there and just the difference in, I guess, culture and mentality towards rugby I mean...they love it, don't they?”
Knowing what is coming is one thing, trying to stop it is another.
“Be technically good, I think when you're not the biggest you've got to be technically good and make sure we get our mindset right for this game,” said the Ulster coach. “It's going to be a different challenge than what we've faced already this season.
“I think it's making sure everyone's on the same page, we don't get individual in those moments where we're feeling a bit isolated.
“Munster did a pretty good job on us around that and sort of negated what we were trying to do, so making sure that, yes, we'll have a plan but if it doesn't quite go right, adjusting and moving on pretty quickly.”
Dermody has praised the work Tom O’Toole has put in by switching sides in the scrum.
“I think it's not an easy job switching sides all the time, so at this stage, with the way the boys are going at tighthead, we feel like time at loosehead is pretty good for us,” he said. “He's pretty good in that fact he can, with limited time and reps, be able to jump over and do a job at tighthead as well.”
Ulster have a growing injury list before flying out to South Africa with Eduardo Bello, Iain Henderson, Rob Herring, James Hume, Charlie Irvine, Aitzol Arenzana-King, Stewart Moore, Jude Postlethwaite, Callum Reid and Bryn Ward all unavailable.
Zac Ward is a doubt after picking up an ankle injury in the win over Zebre at the weekend.
Irish international duo Stuart McCloskey and Nick Timoney picked up muscle injuries in training last week and will be monitored while Ben Donnell, Ethan McIlroy and Eli Snyman have all resumed training.