125kg tighthead shows freak athleticism to chase down future Springbok teammate
There is a huge amount of hype around Lions centre Henco van Wyk, with many expecting the 21-year-old to eventually take the Springbok No13 jersey from Lukhanyo Am. But there was a moment against Stade Francais last Saturday in the Challenge Cup that he will not want to watch again.
Playing at Stade Francais’ Stade Jean Bouin, van Wyk was given a bit of space on the wing, on the host’s 22. He charged towards the line, but found himself being dragged down five metres from the line. That is not that strange, but he was dragged down by tighthead Vincent Koch. All 125kg of Vincent Koch.
In van Wyk’s defence, he did need to cut inside to try and beat the fullback, but it was still quite alarming to see a player almost 35kg heavier than him chase him down.
This was on the way to Stade Francais winning 17-7.
Take a look at the tackle:
🦸 Mr Incredible. @vincentkoch1
Fun Fact: he is the best tighthead centre in world rugby. pic.twitter.com/GqVcNXc23t
— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) January 19, 2023
Despite these heroics from Koch, he has to settle for the bench this weekend against Treviso at the Stadio Comunale di Monigo.
Stade Francais XV
1 Sergo Abramaishvili
2 Laurent Panis
3 Paul ALo-Emile
4 Nathan Huguen
5 Juan John van der Mescht
6 Giorgi Tsutskiridze
7 Sekou Macalou
8 Juan Martin Scelzo
9 Arthur Coville
10 Leo Barre
11 Stephane Ahmed
12 Alex Arrate
13 Julien Delbouis
14 Sione Tui
15 Kylan Hamdaoui
Replacements
16 Lucas Peyresblanques
17 Clément Castets
18 Vincent Koch
19 Ryan Chapuis
20 Sitaleki Timani
21 Harry Glover
22 Morgan Parra
23 Peniasi Dakuwaqa
Benetton Treviso XV
15 Rhyno Smith
14 Edoardo Padovani
13 Ignacio Brex
12 Tommaso Menoncello
11 Mattia Bellini
10 Tomas Albornoz
9 Alessandro Garbisi
8 Michele Lamaro
7 Manuel Zuliani
6 Sebastian Negri
5 Federico Ruzza
4 Niccolò Cannone
3 Simone Ferrari
2 Giacomo Nicotera
1 Federico Zani
Replacements
16 Manuel Arroyo
17 Nahuel Tetaz
18 Tiziano Pasquali
19 Riccardo Favretto
20 Henry Time-Stowers
21 Dewaldt Duvenage
22 Jacob Umaga
23 Marco Zanon
