Ntubeni’s return will boost strong WP squad to face Griquas
IT WILL be special day in Kimberley tomorrow for Western Province hooker Scarra Ntubeni, even if he will be sitting on the bench.
WP coach John Dobson is set to send Ntubeni, who recently returned from injury, on to the field for his 50th cap.
Dobson said that he wants to ease the front-rower back into action, and added that Ntubeni brings a lot to the team.
“I want to focus on his rugby and build up his game time,” Dobson said.
“That’s what disappointed me the most about the yellow card (he received against the Pumas at the weekend) because it was 10 minutes of rugby, but we want to increase that because he’s such an iconic figure in this team.“We teased him a bit in the team meeting and said we weren’t sure if this was his 50th because I’m not sure we could have counted Saturday…he was on the field for five minutes,” Dobson quipped.
On a more serious note, the WP coach explained that – although he described his team to travel to Kimberley as “pretty much the strongest” – their Currie Cup-opening defeat to the Free State Cheetahs scuppered the chances of “playing with their selections”.
“We’ve gone pretty much as strong as we could go,” Dobson said.
However, Dobson also said possibly the only position that could be stronger was flyhalf – where Kurt Coleman will make his second Currie Cup appearance of the season, while adding that young flyhalf Damian Willemse’s presence would be crucial for their home game against the Bulls on Saturday.
“But we’ve got to bear in mind that putting a 19-year-old through 240 minutes of Currie Cup rugby in seven days might not be good for his long-term development.”
Dobson said he was expecting a tough contest from Griquas.
“A lot of their guys come from here. Guys who probably haven’t gotten into our system…guys who would like to be playing here. So desperation is a very powerful motivational tool. We’re going to have to be at our best.”
“I don’t think Western Province – at Vodacom Cup or Currie Cup level – have stumbled there in the last couple of years. But we are aware that they are a dangerous beast.”
“They’re a desperate team with naught from three, so I reckon this will be the game that they target.”
On the injury front, Dobson confirmed that prop Ali Vermaak was concussed and flanker Johan du Toit was nursing a hamstring injury, while centre Dan Kriel was experiencing frequent cramping and will be rested for Saturday’s clash.
Western Province
15 SP Marais, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 EW Viljoen, 12 Michal Hazner, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Kurt Coleman, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Kobus van Dyk, 6 Steph de Wit, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Chris van Zyl (captain), 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Ramone Samuels, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg. Bench: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Michael Kumbirai, 18 Jurie van Vuuren, 19 Jaco Coetzee, 20 Jano Vermaak, 21 Huw Jones, 22 Damian Willemse.