The DHL Stormers face a bit of a tighthead problem ahead of their penultimate Vodacom United Rugby Championship league game against the Dragons on 10 May, but otherwise the Cape team are in a good space as they look forward to a knock-out phase they are now likely to be part of.
The Stormers made a massive statement going into this bye week (for the EPCR semifinals) with their 56-5 win over a Benetton team that would have arrived at the DHL Stadium with some hope. But for the second week in a row the win was marred by a potentially career-ending injury to a seasoned stalwart and veteran.
In the narrow win over Connacht, it was Deon Fourie who departed soon after coming onto the field as a replacement. The good news is that while Fourie will be out for the rest of the season, the break to his tibia was so clean that the worst fears won’t be realised, and coach John Dobson expects him to be ready to play at the start of next season.
That’s unlikely to be the case for Brok Harris, the 40-year-old tighthead, who came off against Benetton with a leg injury that will put him out for the rest of the season and, because he intends retiring at the end of this term, probably means we have seen the last of the likeable prop.
With Springbok Frans Malherbe probably out for the rest of the season due to a back complaint and Neethling Fouche out for another game because of the ridiculous suspension slapped on him for the idiotic red card he received against Ulster, and young Corne Weilbach, considered a future star and the next cab off the rank, having had a health scare after playing for Griquas last weekend, Dobson is in a pickle when it comes to his tighthead resources.
He openly admitted that he didn’t know which way to turn at the post-match press conference following the Benetton game, and in conversation afterwards. Going outside for backup would send out the wrong message to young players awaiting their turn, while it is questionable whether even the most promising young tightheads are completely ready for URC rugby.
Former Junior Springbok skipper Zacheray Porthen was among five young players who had contract extensions announced by the Stormers on Tuesday, the others being JC Mars, Divan Fuller, Asad Moos and Kyle Smith, and he could be called upon to face the Dragons. Ideally though his introduction to big-time rugby should come in the seasons to come rather than now.
HOLDING THUMBS
Fortunately Fouche will be available again after the Dragons game, and without being unkind, the lowly position of Dragons on the log (they are last by some distance) suggests they are the ideal opponents to be playing when experiencing a tighthead crisis. But Dobson will be holding thumbs that there are no more injuries to his last standing regular tightheads, Fouche and Sazi Sandi, because he now has ambitions to go deep into the competition.
After the defence didn’t match the quality of their attacking game against Connacht, and it nearly cost them the result, the Stormers produced a complete performance against Benetton that should have come as an ominous warning for their playoff opponents.
And right now that looks like being the Hollywoodbets Sharks, with Durban obviously being a much-preferred away venue for a knockout game than a flight across the equator. The perfect scenario would be for the Stormers to beat the Sharks and then play the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus in a semifinal.
That would be a tough road to success but the Stormers are certainly in a better space than they were in a few months ago and regardless of how their championship quest turns out there does look like there is something building at the franchise. When it comes to connecting with their fans and conforming to the assumed DNA of the region, meaning attacking rugby, the Stormers should be the envy of the other local franchises.
GREAT ENTERTAINERS
A crowd of 18 000 doesn’t sound like a huge turnout, but it was good for a public holiday weekend in Cape Town, and ditto for the week before against Connacht. The atmosphere at both games, and appreciation for the attacking skills of the likes of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was incredible and if the Stormers can finish off the home part of their season with the style they are exhibiting now it augurs well for the future and for the core business of professional sport, which is putting bums on seats.
The try-scoring bonus point picked up against Benetton means that all games they have played this season at DHL Stadium, even the one they lost to the Bulls, they have scored four tries or more. They may not end the season as URC champions, but they stand a good chance of ending it being recognised by their support base as the great entertainers that they are.
After the Dragons game the Stormers finish off the league season with a Friday night game against Cardiff, who are currently one point ahead of the Stormers in fifth place on the log.