Ntlabakanye has scrum beef to settle for the Lions
JUST like Drake and Kendrick Lamar, Asenathi Ntlabakanye has a beef to settle.
The target of his ire – Munster – have long departed South Africa with back-to-back victories on the Highveld, so his vengeance will now fall upon Cardiff at Ellis Park tomorrow (6.15pm kick-off).
Ntlabakanye came on as a replacement early in the second stanza in the 33-13 loss against the defending champions on April 27, and although disappointed with the result, the fact that he was part of a scrum that conceded a penalty to Munster absolutely rankles.
“It does hurt me man, to be honest,” he said frankly when looking back at the penalty in the 73rd minute.
“I know a lot of people don’t look at it that way, but I take those things very personally – those little battles – knowing that guy can go back to Ireland saying, ‘I outscrummed that guy’.
“If you ask my missus, I was quite grumpy when I got back home for a solid 24 hours. I got over it, and learnt a few lessons.”
The Lions are statistically the best scrummaging unit in the United Rugby Championship with a 96% success rate, and throughout the competition have lost only three scrums.
They have won 22 penalties – the fifth-most in the tournament – from the set piece, too, so it is no surprise that the Joburgers take immense pride in that department.
Although Cardiff have had a torrid season – the Welsh side are 12th in the standings on 24 points – they will come well-armed to Ellis Park with the second-best scrum in the URC.
In this endeavour, they have been inspired by Test props Corey Domachowski, Keiron Assiratti and Rhys Carre, and former Wales Under-20 hooker Liam Belcher in the front row, with Ben Donnell, Seb Davies and Teddy Williams among their locks completing a formidable tight five.
The Lions can ill-afford any slipups against the visitors in what they expect will be a titanic tussle once again up front. Against Munster, they were not only outplayed but also outsmarted, and must be wise to any such re-enactment attempted by the Blues.
The Irish team played percentage rugby, poking and prodding the Lions into mistakes and rash decisions.
They took their time, employed a hefty amount of gamesmanship and chipped away at the mental fortitude of their hosts.
By the time the Lions started threatening their line in the second half, the home side were a desperate bunch as they chased the game with a panic-induced verve that resulted in plenty of mistakes, but little reward.
According to the 25-year-old tighthead prop, they have identified where Munster exposed them so badly, and will be looking to close those cracks so that they do not get exploited again this season.
As for the other small battle evolving in the hip hop world, Ntlabakanye is quite clear on which side he falls.
“I’ve got to go with Drake... I’ve just got to go with him.”