Scarra Ntubeni’s “devastating” Achilles injury may see him miss out on Super Rugby next year, but Western Province are moving swiftly to sign a replacement for him in the Currie Cup.
WP coach John Dobson said during a press conference in Bellville on Monday that the union are in negotiations with another hooker from outside the union ahead of Friday’s big clash against the Golden Lions at Ellis Park (7pm kickoff).
“As regards to hooker, we have got a plan there, but it’s just a little bit of paperwork that needs sorting out. So I don’t want to say anything about that until it’s done,” the coach said.
“It’s somebody who is part of our family, who has played a lot for us very recently. I don’t want to say anything because it still has to be agreed between the parties involved. It’s not somebody random from Mars or Griffons!”
The familiar face might be Mike Willemse, who played for WP in the Currie Cup qualifiers this season, but turned out for the EP Kings in the Premier Division in the first few matches of the competition.
Willemse hails from Port Elizabeth, but came through the ranks via UCT in the Varsity Cup and the WP age-group teams. His Province contract ended this year, and it is believed that he is playing for EP on a match-by-match basis without a contract. He started for the Kings in their 57-25 defeat to the Cheetahs at the weekend.
Province are in desperate need of a new No 2, as Bongi Mbonambi is in the Springbok squad for the Rugby Championship, while Ntubeni has joined Chad Solomon (ankle) on the sidelines.
WP director of rugby Gert Smal has already had to shore up the front row by drafting in Neil Rautenbach (on loan from the Cheetahs) and Martin Ferreira (formerly EP Kings) in recent weeks.
Apart from Ntubeni – who is officially out for six to nine months after snapping his Achilles tendon, Dobson said that centre Huw Jones is still in doubt, while Oli Kebble (hip) and Sikhumbuzo Notshe (ankle) are definitely out.
Notshe’s injury is the most serious, and his absence will also prevent him from continuing to push for a place in the Bok squad, but on the plus side, Rynhardt Elstadt returns and there is an outside chance of Nizaam Carr being back as well after he was put through his paces on Monday.
“Notshe has a partial syndesmosis, it’s not a full one. Oli has a hip flexor and is still out for a couple of weeks. Rynhardt is back, and Nemo (Carr) has been training for the last week – we’re just not quite sure yet if he’s available this week,” Dobson said.
“Notshe’s injury will keep him out for weeks, but I’m not sure yet. With a partial syndesmosis, it’s very hard to tell early on – it’s damaged, but it’s hard to quantify at the moment. He is seeing the specialist today.
“If Nizaam is fit, that is a massive boost for us after losing Notshe. We’ve got Jurie van Vuuren to step up. Rynhardt Elstadt is back, so we will actually have a debate about the loose forwards.”
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