Steven Kitshoff never got to pack down at lock. Watching tightheads do it in the Champions Cup, the former Springboks loosehead wished he had.
“I personally would have loved to lock down for a couple of games and yeah, I think I retired a little bit too soon.”
Kitshoff said it on For The Love Of Rugby, after Dan Cole asked whether he would have made the move if Rassie Erasmus had asked. He retired in February 2025 on medical advice, after neck fusion surgery.
Bordeaux-Bègles started Ben Tameifuna, usually a tighthead, at lock against Gloucester on Friday. On Sunday Toulouse paired tighthead Joel Merkler with Joshua Brennan in the second row against Exeter.
Which prop would you pay to see pack down at lock? Tell us in the comments.
The lineout bluff Kitshoff had ready
Cole put the question in Rassie’s words: “Kitsy, I need you to make the move.” Kitshoff already had a plan, and it started with strapping.
“I would have definitely strapped my legs as well just to double bluff the guys, just to go, listen, I’m actually a realistic option in the [lineout] as well, and stand there and pretend that I’m going to jump.”
He even had an age in mind.
“Maybe towards the 36, 37 age group I probably would have had my opportunity.”
READ ALSO: Gloucester vs Bordeaux 36-36, with Tameifuna at lock and no penalty at the last scrum
Why a prop’s job changes at lock
In the front row, Kitshoff said, the pressure comes from every direction.
“When you’re in the front row and there’s downward pressure, there’s guy leaning on your neck, there’s all your stabilisers need to be quite active because you’re fighting different forces.”
“I think when you’re in a locking position, it’s basically just a straight push.”
Cole saw the difference in Merkler on Sunday. While Merkler was at lock, Cole said, he was carrying and making cover tackles. Once he moved to tighthead, “his involvements around the field fell away”.
Cole compared a scrum to a max squat. Do that three or four times and then try to run around, he said, and it tires you out.
“I tried that and still didn’t get any love”
Cole, a tighthead for 118 England Tests, wanted a go in the second row late in his career too.
“Yeah. Well, I tried that and still didn’t get any love.”
He called the weekend “the start of the tight takeover of every position on the rugby field”.
The French mindset explains it, Cole said. An English club short of locks would move a 110kg back-rower into the second row. French clubs put a big man behind the tighthead and lock the scrum down.
Kitshoff had the last word on it, picking his fantasy team.
“Okay, I’ll pick a team full of loose heads.”
Would you start a tighthead at lock in a big European game? Tell us below.
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Steven Kitshoff: the quick answers
Why did Steven Kitshoff retire?
Kitshoff retired on 25 February 2025 because of a serious neck injury. He had neck fusion surgery, and a specialist advised that the risk of another injury was too high. He won 83 Test caps and two World Cups with the Springboks.
Did Ben Tameifuna play lock for Bordeaux?
Yes. Bordeaux-Bègles started Tameifuna, usually a tighthead prop, at lock in their 36-36 draw with Gloucester at Kingsholm on 16 October 2026.
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