Last chance saloon for Ntubeni?
CURRIE CUP SPOTLIGHT: Western Province hooker Siyabonga Ntubeni will have the chance to make the No.2 jersey his own again after Ramone Samuels suffered a serious knee injury in a pre-season friendly against Montpellier.
Samuels could miss the entire 2018 Currie Cup season for Province, who begin their campaign against the Free State Cheetahs at Newlands on Saturday.
“It is a serious knee injury,” said Western Province head coach John Dobson.
“I am not sure of the exact time frame or the exact diagnosis. It’s one of those ones that you don’t want to watch again when you see the tape.”
Samuels’ injury opens the door for Ntubeni, who has also had his fair share of injuries in the last few seasons.
Dobson said he is excited to what Ntubeni can do if he stays injury free during this year’s tournament.
“He [Ntubeni] brought a lot on and off the field. Towards the end of the SuperSport Challenge he started to find his rhythm again.
“I’ve got no doubt that he will be back to his best if he stays on the field for one or two games,” said the Province coach.
Dobson added: “I think Scarra realises he is almost in last chance saloon in terms of injuries. It is not Caster Semenya’s body that.
“He is putting in a lot to make sure that he stays as fit as he can. He was brilliant in the quarterfinal of the SuperSport Challenge, unfortunately, he got a stinger with 20 minutes to go.
“Ramone went off after only five minutes against Montpellier, so for Scarra to go there and to scrum and play as well as he did and defend like he did was really good. I’m really excited about Scarra.”
Meanwhile, Province captain Chris van Zyl will miss this weekend’s clash against the Cheetahs as he still recovering from a knee injury he suffered in Super Rugby. He is expected to be fit for Province’s clash against the Pumas in Nelspruit on August 31.
Other players out injured are Johan du Toit (knee), Cobus Wiese (neck) and Jean-Luc du Plessis (hip).
There is a concern that Du Plessis is suffering from the same injury that kept him out of action for over a year.
“He [du Plessis] is not available this week. I think they are still doing an assessment on his hip. They are trying not to operate. But if they do operate it is the same injury,” said Dobson.
By Warren Fortune
@FortuneWarren
@rugby365com
