Dobson lauds Stormers hooker Scarra Ntubeni for reaching 100 caps

Stormers coach John Dobson has heaped praise on hooker Scarra Ntubeni who will play his 100^th game for the franchise when they take on the Sharks in the United Rugby Championship on Saturday.

Ntubeni, who made his debut for the Stormers in 2011, will enter their history books on Saturday by becoming the 11th player to make a century of appearances for the Cape Town-based outfit. He will get a rare start in the front row this weekend, flanked by Sti Sithole and Neethling Fouche.

The second row is made up of Adre Smith and Ruben van Heerden, while the loose trio is formed by captain Deon Fourie, Ben-Jason Dixon, and Hacjivah Dayimani, and Paul de Wet and Manie Libbok continue with their halfback partnership.

Dan du Plessis returns to the starting lineup to form a pairing with Ruhan Nel at centre. On the wings, it will be Leolin Zas and Suleiman Hartzenberg with Damian Willemse at fullback.

The match is expected to draw a huge crowd to Cape Town Stadium, keeping up with the festive mood that has swept the Mother city.

Incredible Scarra

Speaking on the milestone Ntubeni will reach this weekend, Dobson said the powerful hooker deserved it because of the adversity he had to overcome during his career.

“It’s an incredible achievement when you consider the injury setbacks Scarra has had in his career,” said Dobson.

“He is a top player and a special person who has been a favourite of the ‘faithful’ for many years. We are incredibly proud of him and hopefully we can all make it memorable for him.”

Dobson went on to urge supporters to continue where they left off after last weekend’s North-South derby win over the Bulls and get behind the team, as they prepared to take on a motivated Sharks

“The support we got last week was phenomenal and really lifted the team, so everyone is looking forward to another special occasion at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday,” he said.

Stormers team

15 Damian Willemse, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Deon Fourie (capt), 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Adre Smith, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Sti Sithole.

Bench: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Brok Harris, 19 Hendre Stassen, 20 Marcel Theunissen, 21 Willie Engelbrecht, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Jurie Matthee