Ruhan Nel being stretchered from the field during his team’s 52-7 win over the Scarlets was the last thing that DHL Stormers coach John Dobson wanted to see in the second-round match but fortunately the injury isn’t one that will keep him out for a long time.
Centre is an area of concern for the Stormers at present as they have several players on the injured list, including now both first-choice centres from last season, Dan du Plessis and Nel, plus their immediate understudies Cornel Smit and Suileman Hartzenberg. The latter is due to return after a long injury layoff around the time of the next Vodacom United Rugby Championship home game against Zebre in Stellenbosch on 2 December.
Another option at midfield will be Damian Willemse when he returns from the Rugby World Cup and is ready to play again. Dobson says he will give the Boks as long as they want before returning, as he wants hungry players playing for him, but it is anticipated that with Warrick Gelant back on the Stormers books it will be at inside centre that Willemse is deployed when he does return.
The 29-man squad that flew out of Cape Town on Sunday for a tough four-match tour that features games against teams they haven’t beaten at venues they have yet to win at - Glasgow, Treviso, Cardiff and Limerick - did not include Nel, but Dobson explained that the Blitzbok will probably be called up later on in the trip.
“Fortunately, though this might sound a funny thing to say, is that Ruhan’s injury was concussion, the result of a bit of whiplash,” said Dobson after his team’s eight-try rout of the Welsh club at the Danie Craven Stadium.
“The reason why I say it is a funny thing to say is because I did fear the worst when I saw Ruhan go down, remembering he had spinal problems that kept him out last season. At least with concussion you are ready to play again once you have passed your HIA protocols. We won’t take Ruhan on tour as he has a young family and they would have been a bit panicked seeing him go down like that.
“That’s the problem when someone is stretchered off, it always looks bad and the people close to that player could understandably get very concerned when it happens. Flying Ruhan out with the team a day after something like that happens would be inhumane so we are allowing him to do his recovery in Cape Town. Flying with concussion is also never a good idea.”
A BIT OF A HOLE IN MIDFIELD
It does leave Dobson in a bit of a hole when it comes to Friday night’s important game against Glasgow Warriors at the Scotstoun. The clash between the two teams in January was one of the games of the 2022/23 URC season, with Glasgow winning with a late try, and Dobson knows his team will have to be at their best to win.
Ben Loader was impressive in his first start and he looked the part when he moved to the midfield alongside the creative presence of the gifted Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. He looks likely to slot into the midfield in the starting team on Friday, even though, according to Dobson, the former London Irish star hadn’t played there before the Stellenbosch game.
“I thought he looked good at centre,” said Dobson.
He did, but the Stormers do have another midfield option in Gelant, who played his junior rugby as an outside centre and played there when he came to South Africa with his French club for a game against the Emirates Lions in Johannesburg last year.
DOING WELL DESPITE JUGGLING ACT
The Stormers have done well to win both their opening matches with full points to top the log by a point from Connacht considering how Dobson has had to juggle his players around at the back due to the injuries to Du Plessis and to two flyhalves in the form of Jurie Matthee and Jean-Luc du Plessis.
Jean-Luc du Plessis is fortunately ready to tour and could be used against Glasgow, but the continued absence of his cousin Dan from the No 12 jersey means that Dobson will have to continue with Feinberg-Mngomezulu in that position. Feinberg-Mngomezulu was initially slated to play flyhalf but Clayton Blommetjies, normally a fullback or wing, has been deputising there.
Of course once Manie Libbok is playing again there won’t be problems for Dobson either at flyhalf or centre, and if Dan du Plessis is fit when that happens his problem will revolve around who to leave out as he has plenty of depth there if you consider that Willemse has also played international rugby in the pivot position.
Dobson was obviously happy with the big win over the Scarlets but felt his players, in their eagerness to express themselves, flirted with danger too often. The Stormers backs, with Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Gelant in particular at times being quite sublime with their skill levels, will probably be instructed to be a little bit less flamboyant against the Warriors.
Talking of flamboyance, one of the other Stormers stalwarts not taking part in the initial part of the tour is flanker Hacjivah Dayimani who has stayed behind in Cape Town to be with his partner who is due to give birth.
DHL Stormers touring squad
Backs: Clayton Blommetjies, Angelo Davids, Paul de Wet, Jean-Luc du Plessis, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Warrick Gelant, Herschel Jantjies, Ben Loader, Courtnall Skosan, Stefan Ungerer, Leolin Zas.
Forwards: Ben-Jason Dixon, Joseph Dweba, Willie Engelbrecht, Connor Evans, Neethling Fouche, Lizo Gqoboko, Brok Harris, Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, Keke Morabe, Scarra Ntubeni, Gary Porter, Evan Roos, Adre Smith, Marcel Theunissen, Ruben van Heerden, Andre-Hugo Venter, Ali Vermaak, Nama Xaba.