With his Springbok stocks on the rise, Stormers loosehead prop Ntuthuko Mchunu aims to maintain his impressive form in the run-in to the Vodacom URC playoffs.
Mchunu has scored four tries in his last three matches, including a brace in the Stormers’ 48-12 demolition of the Glasgow Warriors at Cape Town Stadium two weeks ago.
The 27-year-old earned three Bok caps in 2022 and was included in Rassie Erasmus’ first alignment camp of the year. Next up is Friday night’s URC clash against eighth-placed Ulster in Belfast.
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Mchunu, who joined the Stormers from the Sharks from this season, has impressed with his scrummaging and powerful ball-carrying.
“One of my strengths is my ball carrying,” he said. “The more I can sharpen that and make it an edge, I’ll keep working on it. I enjoy it and want to get better every game.”
And his standards have not dropped since pre-season. “From the get-go, the coaches were hard on me. Not in a bad way, but demanding a standard. That’s been the challenge, and it hasn’t dropped.”
Stormers forwards coach Rito Hlungwani added: “I was excited when Tuks moved to Cape Town. I challenge him a lot and he embraces it. There’s still plenty more coming.”
Despite the national buzz around his form, Mchunu is focused on the task at hand: “If I play well enough and the people in charge think I belong there, I’ll get a shot. For now, it’s about working hard here.”
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His path to the front row was anything but conventional. In 2019, his U21 coach Sean Everett suggested the then-loose forward make the switch to prop.
“At first I thought he was joking,” Mchunu said. “After the third time, I asked him if he was serious. He said, ‘I don’t think you’re a bad loose forward… I just think you’ll be a greater prop. The pathway for you there is a lot better.’
“It was a tough pill to swallow because I had conditioned myself as a loose forward. But the more I was put in those positions, the more confident I became.”
That confidence now manifests in moments like the sleight-of-hand move he pulled off with tighthead Neethling Fouché against Glasgow that duped the defence and opened the scoring.
“It’s something that we certainly rehearsed,” Mchunu said. “You need to have a bit of confidence if you’re going to put your tighthead in a playmaking position.
“But it’s just something we felt we’d like to add to our arsenal.”
We’re up and running
Ntuthuko Mchunu gets the first try for @THESTORMERS. @Vodacom #URC | #ExtraOrdinaryLeague | #RaceToTheEight pic.twitter.com/Y1z5c2c2gg— vodacomrugby (@VodacomRugga) April 25, 2026
Photo: @THESTORMERS/X
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