UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP
John Goliath|Published
The Stormers have been forced to issue an urgent call-up to veteran hooker Scarra Ntubeni, bringing the 35-year-old out of retirement to act as an emergency "medical joker" for this weekend's United Rugby Championship clash against Ulster.
The sudden move follows an extraordinary front-row crisis at DHL Stadium during the Stormers’ 52–40 victory over Scarlets, where Director of Rugby John Dobson saw three hooker options wiped out in a single afternoon.
Starting hooker Andre-Hugo Venter was forced off before halftime with a severe elbow injury, while replacement Lukhanyo Vokozela was removed for a Head Injury Assessment (HIA), which he subsequently failed.
With regular hooker JJ Kotze already serving a suspension, the squad was left completely depleted in the position.
Stormers skills coach Labeeb Levy confirmed the squad is currently preparing with Vernon Paulo and young Currie Cup hooker Altus Rabie, alongside pulling Ntubeni back into the squad mix to cover all contingencies.
"Scarra's possibly the third choise because, in case of an injury now at training or say in the warm-up before the game if someone goes down, you always have extra players warming up with the team," Levy explained.
"He’s just been pulled out as a stop-gap, a medical joker if you can call it, in case something happens."
Ntubeni, who called time on his career earlier this year after 15 years and over 100 appearances for the Cape franchise, remains the most logical short-term solution while the coaching staff manage the situation.
Adding to the Stormers' forward selection headache is the injury status of World Cup winner Deon Fourie, who stepped in to throw at the lineouts after Venter's departure before limping off himself with a hamstring issue.
Levy confirmed that while Fourie will not require surgery, but he has been ruled out of Saturday's fixture against Ulster.
"He's not playing this weekend, that we can guarantee. With the hamstrings, the tricky one is normally four to six weeks, sometimes longer," Levy said
"From what I remember of the medical report, it wasn't necessary for an operation, which is good, but obviously it needs conservative management and treatment. Then we have the four-week break and the re-evaluation processes."
Despite the front-row chaos and having to navigate the closing stages with uncontested scrums, veteran scrumhalf Cobus Reinach praised the team's adaptability, particularly when paired with 19-year-old flyhalf Yaqeen Ahmed, who scored two tries to seal the win at the end of chaotic match
"Yaqeen showed his class. He's 19, but he's got a big rugby brain and rugby blood in him," Van Wyk said.
"Losing three hookers never happens. It was in a way a good thing for the team, because it was problem-solving on the go, and I think we did well. That's a sign of us learning and growing as a team."