Cape Town – It seemed to be a mismatch of epic proportions – an all-Springbok Stormers front row were expected to dominate the Bulls in the scrums.
Steven Kitshoff, Joseph Dweba and Frans Malherbe would have been licking their lips to take on Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar and Mornay Smith at Cape Town Stadium on December 23.
But while the Stormers won 37-27, there was no doubt that the Bulls had the edge in the set-piece.
The Bulls won a few penalties in the first half, but yellow cards to Marco van Staden and Elrigh Louw blunted their physicality, and despite being 13-13 at half-time, they conceded three early second-half tries.
The Pretoria side will be charged up to fix those mistakes in Saturday’s return URC clash at Loftus Versfeld (5.05pm kick-off), and would have been encouraged by their scrum performance in the hope of ending a four-match losing streak to John Dobson’s outfit.
The return of coach Jake White after an operation will no doubt galvanise the Bulls further.
And this time around, the Stormers won’t have Kitshoff, Malherbe or lock Marvin Orie, who are unavailable due to Springbok resting protocols.
They would have been heartened by a fine display against the Sharks in Durban on February 4 when Dweba, Brok Harris and Neethling Fouché overwhelmed Ntuthuko Mchunu, Kerron van Vuuren and Carlu Sadie to set up a 46-19 triumph.
Dweba will be the favourite to wear the No 2 jersey at Loftus, but the man who could play a crucial role in the second half is Scarra Ntubeni as the back-up hooker.
The biggest test for the Capetonians will be dealing with the altitude, and while rain has been forecast, they will need to be sharp and not concede penalties in the last 20 minutes in order to deny the Bulls extra momentum.
Ntubeni made his comeback after 10 months out with an Achilles injury in the 35-5 loss to Ulster in late January, where he had to replace the injured JJ Kotze in the third minute.
The one-cap Springbok lasted about 44 minutes before making way for André-Hugo Venter, and wants to continue making progress against the Bulls.
“When you play the Bulls, you don’t need much motivation, it’s always massive,” Ntubeni said in an interview on the Stormers website.
“I’m excited with a bit of nerves, because it’s been a while for me. But once the whistle goes, I’ll be fine – I just need to make that first hit and first carry. I just feel fortunate to get another opportunity to get back on the park.
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“I wasn’t expecting to come on that early against Ulster, but luckily we had Vennas (Venter) on the bench.
“I needed to be thrown into the deep end, because the lungs were going to struggle anyway, so I thought I might as well just do it. It was pretty awesome to be back on the field.
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“For me, at the moment, it’s about getting back into the team because I’ve been out for about 10 months. I really want to get back to my form where I was playing last season.”
Ntubeni will turn 32 tomorrow, and while he is facing a serious battle against Dweba, Kotze and Venter for game-time, he is still keen to make his mark for the Stormers.
IOL Sport
