Sport24.co.za | Brits backs ‘amazing’ Scarra ahead of Bok debut
Cape Town – Springbok captain Schalk Brits believes that debutant Scarra Ntubeni will impress in South Africa’s ‘Farewell Test’ against Argentina at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria this weekend.
READ | Dobson hails Scarra Bok inclusion as ‘really great story’
Ntubeni toured with the Springboks in 2013 and 2014 but has had a long wait to pull on the jersey for the first time in a Test.
The 28-year-old is set to make his Springbok debut off the bench on Saturday, and Brits had a few word of encouragement for the Western Province hooker, whom he described as “a great rugby player and even a better person”.
“I’ve seen Scarra from a young age and although I’m very grey, he is getting more grey than me! It’s amazing to see a guy like that who have been in the trenches, had a lot of injuries and coming through the system,” said Brits.
“I’m backing him and he’s backing me up tomorrow. To learn everything in one week is tough but he is a clever player so I can’t wait to see him the Green and Gold and I hope he puts in a performance (when he gets onto the field) that is unbelievable.”
Saturday’s Test at Loftus Versfeld is scheduled for 17:05.
Teams:
South Africa
15 Warrick Gelant, 14 S’bu Nkosi, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Dillyn Leyds, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Marcell Coetzee, 7 Rynhardt Elstadt, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Schalk Brits (captain), 1 Thomas du Toit
Substitutes: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Marvin Orie, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Faf de Klerk, 23 Frans Steyn
Argentina
15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 13 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 12 Lucas Mensa, 11 Ramiro Moyano, 10 Joaquin Diaz Bonilla, 9 Felipe Ezcurra, 8 Javier Ortega Desio, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera (captain), 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Santiago Medrano, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Mayco Vivas
Substitutes: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 18 Juan Figallo, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Tomas Lezana, 21 Gonzalo Bertanou, 22 Benjamin Urdapilleta, 23 Santiago Carreras