Hooker Scarra Ntubeni will reach 100 Stormers caps in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship coastal clash against the Sharks in the Mother City on Saturday.
The Stormers’ last match of 2023 kicks off at 19h00 on Saturday at the DHL Cape Town Stadium.
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Ntubeni starts at hooker in the only change to the starting forward pack, while the only change to the backline sees Dan du Plessis make his return from injury at inside centre.
There are a few changes on the replacements bench with forwards Hendre Stassen and Marcel Theunissen included this week, while scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies makes his return from injury and utility back Jurie Matthee is set for his first Vodacom United Rugby Championship appearance.
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Stormers head coach John Dobson paid tribute to Ntubeni, who made his debut back in 2011 and has never played for another team.
“It’s an incredible achievement when you consider the injury setbacks Scarra has had in his career. He is a top player and a special person who has been a favourite of the Faithful for many years. We are incredibly proud of him and hopefully we can all make it memorable for him.
“The support we got last week was phenomenal and really lifted the team, so everyone is looking forward to another special occasion at DHL Stadium on Saturday,” he said.
TON-UP SCARRA HEADLINES STORMERS TEAM
Stormers — 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Deon Fourie (captain), 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Adre Smith, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Sti Sithole.
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Brok Harris, 19 Hendre Stassen, 20 Marcel Theunissen, 21 Willie Engelbrecht, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Jurie Matthee.
