Porthen’s rise from Stormers backup to Bok starter

WHEN Zachary Porthen makes his Springbok debut against Japan at Wembley on Saturday evening, it will be the biggest moment of his young career.

- LEIGHTON KOOPMAN

But it’s also a moment that has been a couple of years in the making — shaped by the world-class front rowers he’s worked with at the Stormers and Western Province over the past two seasons.

At just 21, Porthen will become the youngest tighthead prop to debut for the national team and has already learned from some of the best in the game. Training alongside Springbok stalwarts Frans Malherbe, Steven Kitshoff and Neethling Fouché, and under the watchful eye of retired veteran Brok Harris, has given him an education few young props could dream of.

He has spent hours in the front-row trenches with those players at the Stormers’ Bellville training base — watching, listening, and applying what he’s learned every time he’s pulled on the Stormers or Province jersey.