Ever-present prop Nel targeting cup joy for the capital crusaders
TIGHTHEAD props are always at the heart of the action, taking the strain in the front row of the scrum, as well as making and receiving the big hits.
Invariably, they pick up injuries because of the sheer physicality of their role — which only makes the playing record of Edinburgh prop WP Nel this season all the more remarkable.
The 28-year-old has not missed a single game for Alan Solomons’ team — 19 in the Pro12 and eight in the European Challenge Cup — and will play his 28th consecutive competitive match for the capital club in the much-anticipated Final of the European competition against Gloucester at The Twickenham Stoop on Friday.
So, what has been the secret of the South African’s ability to stay fit and in-form that head coach Solomons has felt compelled to pick him for every game?
‘I don’t want to jinx myself before the Challenge Cup Final, but I believe it’s down to the top-class training and conditioning programmes here at Edinburgh,’ said Nel. ‘We are all managed really well over the season and that has helped me a lot.
‘The conditioning programmes here are very different to the ones I was used to in South Africa, where I never once managed to play every game in a season.
‘The training is different in South Africa in the sense that you need to be more quick and explosive, rather than strong at the scrum, so I have worked on my strength more here at Edinburgh.
‘In the northern hemisphere, all teams want to show how strong they are and how they can dominate physically up front and that suits my game.
‘I also can’t forget that I have been very lucky not to pick up a serious injury this season and even when I have had a knock, the backroom staff have been terrific to get me ready to play the following weekend.’
For this week’s showpiece final, Nel will be part of an Edinburgh front row including hooker Ross Ford and loosehead prop Alasdair Dickinson, who have both played seventeen times for the club this season. As a result, the trio have laid the foundations for many vital wins and Nel is confident they will continue their good teamwork against Gloucester.
‘We played well last Friday in our Pro12 win over Zebre and, as a front row, if we are all picked, we will go into the game against Gloucester full of confidence,’ said the man who has Afrikaans as his first language. ‘We have beaten London Irish away and Newport Gwent Dragons at home to get to the final and we can continue our winning streak at The Stoop.
‘I’ve played in one big final before, the Currie Cup Final in South Africa in 2009, when we lost to a last-minute interception try against the Blue Bulls. I learned from that experience to keep my feet on the ground, don’t get too carried away, and to do the basics well. I’m not going to change just because it’s a big European Final.’
Scotland head coach Vern Cotter will be watching Nel closely against Gloucester as, come July, he will have fulfilled his three - year residency rule and be eligible to pull on a dark blue jersey.
The man from the tiny South African town of Loeriesfontein became one of t he SRU’s f i rst ‘ project- player’ signings, qualifying for Scotland just in time for the 2015 World Cup, along with his fellow countryman and back-row forward Josh Strauss of Glasgow Warriors.
With first-choice tighthead Euan Murray unavailable for Scotland’s World Cup Pool B match against Japan at Elland Road in Leeds — because his religious beliefs mean he refuses to play on Sundays — at the very l east Nel could find himself as back-up to Geoff Cross for that match. However, a good performance against Gloucester might even result in him starting against the Japanese.
The Edinburgh No 3 is doing his best not to look too far ahead but he clearly has the talent to play international rugby and his name has already been mentioned by various observers, along with Cotter himself, as a possible World Cup squad member.
When he played for the Free State Cheetahs i n South Africa, he was taught the dark arts of tighthead play by the legendary World Cup-winning Springbok front row, Os du Randt. In the past, Nel has also played against the touring British and Irish Lions for the Cheetahs and has beaten New Zealand while playing for the Barbarians.
‘I learned front-row play from some of the best in the business but when it comes to international rugby, I can’t look too far ahead as a lot can happen from weekend to weekend,’ added Nel.
‘It was nice for my name to be mentioned by Vern Cotter and I wouldn’t say no if he asked me to play. If I get the opportunity, I wouldn’t let it slip out of my hands but the only thing I am thinking about just now is the European Challenge Cup Final.’