Scarra's Bok aspirations still very much alive
“IF your goal isn't to play for the Springboks, you're wasting your time.”
That statement by Scarra Ntubeni should do enough to tell you that making it into the Bok squad again is the objective for the Stormers hooker.
Ntubeni made his international debut in 2019, the last season the Boks played rugby. Now, with a bumper Test season awaiting, starting with the Boks taking on the British & Irish Lions in a three-Test series, Ntubeni is determined to put in the work to give himself a chance at making it into the national frame again.
“That's always a drive (playing for the Boks) … if you're not wanting to play there, I think you're wasting your time,” Ntubeni said on his Bok aspirations.
“This period we've had off … I've really tried to work hard. It's five games, so you have to empty the tank and I wanted to hit the ground running, so I knew I had to be prepared. That's all I was working for, now I just need to look after myself and keep working every week and not take my foot off the pedal.”
The Stormers will, on Saturday, face the Bulls at Cape Town Stadium in their second Rainbow Cup SA game after narrowly losing out to the Sharks last weekend.
The Cape side have put up some good displays during the Preparation Series and even in their 33-30 defeat to the Durbanites, but it's match consistency that's been rather evasive.
They would often start off well and dip in the second half or towards the end of the opening half and allow teams back into the game. And that, Ntubeni says, is a problem they're eager to rectify against their rivals this weekend.
“I'm looking forward to playing against quality opposition this week and it's a good opportunity for us. We still haven't performed to our potential and we're losing games by three or five points, so I think it's time for us to get that killer instinct,” Ntubeni said.
“We haven't played for a full 80 minutes, we have played well but we also tend to lapse towards the end of the first or second half, and that was quite a big message at halftime during the Sharks game. But again, we weren't able to execute.
“Us, the senior players, need to take more responsibility in that regard, it's inexcusable. We are wellcoached and have an idea of all the scenarios we could get on the field, so it's up to us to adapt to that. It's definitely something we're working on, we had some long chats on Monday as well. We're definitely going to fix that's this weekend.”