Western Province stalwart Scarra Ntubeni is hoping to cap off his career by lifting the Currie Cup trophy one final time with the team closest to his heart.
Western Province stalwart Scarra Ntubeni is hoping to cap off his career by lifting the Currie Cup trophy one final time with the team closest to his heart.
The 34-year-old hooker, who made his debut for WP back in 2011, has been a loyal servant to the union for well over a decade. While he earned a single Springbok cap in 2019, his most consistent contributions have come in the blue-and-white hoops — and he wants to bow out on a high.
“I won [the Currie Cup] in 2012, 2014 and 2017 so it would be nice to add one more and then know I’m done. It will always be special to win a Currie Cup, with its history and hopefully I have those memories again with my son in the cup, holding the cup or drinking from the cup!”
Ntubeni fronted the media alongside fellow WP legend Brok Harris ahead of their opening Currie Cup clash against the Vodacom Bulls at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
Now retired, Harris has transitioned into coaching and will oversee the forwards during the campaign. He joins a bolstered backroom staff that includes former Springbok defence guru Brendan Venter, ex-WP and Stormers scrumhalf Dewaldt Duvenage, and head coach Labeeb Levy.
Harris said he’s relishing the chance to learn from Venter in particular.
“I’m really learning a lot from him. Just the energy that he brings, and just being a good rugby brain. Brendan and Labeeb bring a lot of experience and it’s been a very good experience for me so far.”
Harris also confirmed that no players involved in the URC setup – or members of the world champion Junior Springbok squad – will feature in the first round.
“Those identified URC players are going into pre-season, so we’ll also be making use of the under 20’s, good club players and then the experienced guys who haven’t played a lot of URC.”
As for leadership, WP’s captain will only be named on Friday.
“We’ve got strong leaders in the squad. You’ve got your lineout leaders, scrum leaders and then your general play and defensive leaders as well. In that, you just pick a guy that has a massive work rate and knows all our systems. I personally feel the captain is just the guy that literally does the toss.”
