CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – FEBRUARY 10: Scarra Ntubeni during the DHL Stormers training session and press conference at High Performance Centre on February 10, 2020 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images)
Super Rugby: Stormers to target Lions fragile pack in derby – Ntubeni
The Stormers head to Ellis Park to face the Lions on Saturday 15 February with a clear gameplan in mind.
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – FEBRUARY 10: Scarra Ntubeni during the DHL Stormers training session and press conference at High Performance Centre on February 10, 2020 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images)
Anybody who watched them struggle to beat the Reds in Johannesburg would be able to spot a glaring weakness in the Lions game.
The Lions scrum struggled against an inexperienced Reds pack which at one point deployed a makeshift front row. The set-piece proved problematic for a team that lean heavily on their gamebreakers and it has not gone unnoticed.
Stormers gameplan against the Lions is clear
Stormers hooker Scarra Ntubeni feels their pack can exploit the Lions’ fragile pack and dominate the game when they come to Ellis Park on Saturday 15 February.
“We’ve done our homework on the Lions. It is definitely an aspect of their game we’d like to target, but we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, because we’ve also spotted lots of good things in their game,” Ntubeni told Netwerk24.
The Stormers were struck a blow when they lost Springbok hooker Bongi Mbonambi to injury in week one of Super Rugby, but Ntubeni is an able replacement.
The Cape side top the South African conference and are yet to concede a point but they remain wary of all of their South African rivals.
Ntubeni said that they could not take it as a given that their pack would dominate, especially with a former Stormer in Carlu Sadie in the Lions ranks.
“They (the Lions) also have Carlu Sadie who knows our structures. We’ll have to work hard,” the Stormers frontranker added.
Ntubeni said the Stormers would be keen to slow the game down, in the knowledge that the Lions thrive when the game is played fast and loose.
The hooker may be required to play more minutes than would be considered ideal with Ntubeni’s understudy, Chad Solomon, enduring a challenging start to his season.
“If it’s required for me to stay on the field for long, then I’ll do my best. The Lions may try to lift the tempo, but we’ll be out to slow things down.”
The Stormers have made an excellent start to their season but were made to grind by the Bulls at Newlands in round two. The Lions have not been at their best suffering a chastening 38-8 defeat to the Jaguares in Buenos Aires before a stuttering triumph over a Reds outfit who would do well to avoid the wooden spoon in the Australian conference.
The Lions have won the last three meetings between the two sides at Ellis Park but will need to up their game to ensure that streak continues.
