Steven Kitshoff is set to reunite with Scarra Ntubeni in a massive boost to DHL Western Province’s scrum in the Currie Cup clash with the Lions on Saturday. DYLAN JACK reports.
Kitshoff has been included in the DHL Western Province’s team to tackle the Lions in Johannesburg in one of nine changes to the starting XV.
The veteran prop rejoined the DHL Stormers and WP from Irish giants Ulster after last season and is set to make his first appearance in the blue-and-white stripes since 2021.
He will form a front row with captain Scarra Ntubeni – the same dynamic duo that started in the 2012 Currie Cup final – and Junior Springbok captain Zach Porthen.
Assistant coach Dawie Snyman welcomed the addition of Kitshoff’s experience, with veteran scrumhalf Dewaldt Duvenage retaining the No 9 jersey after slotting in as a late replacement against the Cheetahs
“It’s great. Those guys bring a wealth of experience. They have been around,” said Snyman.
“You can immediately feel the lift in standard and in the energy in our team, even if they are a bit older and move a bit slower, some of them.
“It’s great to have guys like Scarra and Steven next to each other. They have played a lot of rugby together. Also having Dewaldt guiding a young backline.”
Kitshoff has been training with Western Province for the last month, but needed clearance from SA Rugby to be able to take to the field, as he targets a comeback for the Springboks in the Rugby Championship.
“It’s always communication between the two of us,” Snyman said. “Kitsie is part of the Springboks’ plan, so we just wanted to know exactly in terms of his rehab, we were sending feedback to them, how he’s been tracking in training and we needed to do to help him.
“There was also a discussion with Kitsie about what he needs to do to be ready to play Test rugby again.
“We will assess how he’s doing just after half time. So we will give him at least 40 minutes and just assess just in terms of the speed of the game. We will make a call after that.
“Steven has been training well. He has been on the field with the team for the last two or three weeks, training at a high intensity. So he will handle the load.”
Kitshoff’s presence will be a massive boost to WP’s scrum depth, which struggled after a bright start against the Cheetahs in Cape Town.
WP will also be able to call on recent Bok debutant Andre-Hugo Venter, who is on the bench with tighthead Corne Weilbach and loosehead Vernon Matongo.
“We also selected this weekend to get strong combinations around Zach. So him scrumming alongside Kitsie and Scarra will be great,” Snyman said.
“We have worked a lot on that part of our set piece after last weekend’s performance. We weren’t happy. It was more around system errors than individuals letting us down.
“Having a strong bench with Corne and Andre-Hugo coming on, with Vernon Matongo, who started the last two games and has done well. That will strengthen our scrums at the back end of the game.”
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
The post Kitsie gives WP a ‘big lift’ appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Src: sarugbymag.co.za
