‘Excellent’ Scarra is back in Province fold
WESTERN PROVINCE coach John Dobson is pleased to have hooker and “excellent” lineout-thrower Scarra Ntubeni in the starting line-up to face the Blue Bulls at Newlands tomorrow (5.15pm kickoff ).
Scrumhalf Jano Vermaak, flyhalf Damian Willemse, centre Huw Jones, flank Jaco Coetzee and Ntubeni all come into WP’s run-on side for the home clash.
Vermaak replaces Dewaldt Duvenage, who picked up an ankle injury in the defeat to Griquas on Wednesday and is expected to be out for one or two weeks, and will form the halfback pairing with Willemse, while Justin Phillips and Kurt Coleman will feature off the bench.
With both Coetzee and Ntubeni coming into the starting line-up, Ramone Samuels and Steph de Wit will feature off the replacements bench alongside lock Eddie Zandberg, who will make his Currie Cup debut if he comes off the bench.
Dobson was confident that Ntubeni’s lineout-throwing would add a lot to the team’s set-piece: “Scarra was a bit sick yesterday (Wednesday) so we kept Ramone on, even though he was cramping. Scarra’s throwing is excellent, so that’s a real strength of his.”
And at flyhalf, another prospect that Dobson has a lot of confidence in is Willemse.
“Damian is the first-choice flyhalf at the moment. Kurt did really well on Wednesday, but we have to look to the future. As a union we’re backing Damian,” Dobson said.
“We’re going to back him. That’s our plan.”
And although there are a few changes on paper, it’s the team’s on-field performance that Dobson hopes to see improvement in.
On Wednesday, Province suffered a 44-34 defeat in Kimberley after Griquas outplayed them with a top display of running rugby.
But WP were also their own worst enemies at times, and their shortcomings on defence, discipline and a number of unforced errors are some of the areas the Province coach wants to see a vast improvement in.
“We’ve made some poor kicking decisions over the past few weeks, our physicality at the breakdowns and in the carries and in our defence (need improving). It’s that element of consistent intensity in contact is the biggest concern for us,” Dobson said.