Stormers fear ‘sad finish’ for Brok

Skipper Salmaan Moerat tips his hat to Brok Harris as Stormers boss John Dobson acknowledges the impact of the injured prop’s potential final appearance for the team.

Dobson and Moerat were speaking at Cape Town Stadium after the 40-year-old Harris, set to retire at the end of this season following a 19-year professional career, was forced off in the final 10 minutes of Saturday’s Vodacom URC round 16 win against Benetton.

The Stormers, in sixth place on the URC table, have a week’s break before hosting Dragons on 10 May, followed by their final league fixture against Cardiff (16 May).

“[Harris’ injury] is an emotional one, to be honest. I think you could see it from Brokkie’s point of view. You could see it from other players,” said Dobson.

“We planned everything along the Cardiff game, that it would be his last of the 200 and something. As I said to Shimmy [Hanyani Shimange] on SuperSport, I think in the sands of time, him not being able to play the last game against Cardiff would be a speck of sand compared to the sheer rock of work he’s done for this union.”

The injury compounds the Stormers’ tighthead prop crisis heading into the playoffs. Frans Malherbe remains sidelined with a back injury, while Neethling Fouche is serving a suspension. Sazi Sandi, who scored his first Stormers try on Saturday but later received a yellow card for repeated scrum infringements, is currently the only available tighthead.

“If Neethling passes tackle school he can play against Cardiff. But tighthead is a concern,” Dobson said. “Frans, excuse the pun, is a moving feast.

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“He’s had an epidural and we’ll see how he responds to that. It’s messy, and I’ve seen this movie before, so I’m not sure [when he’ll be back].”

Moerat described the moment when the team gathered around Harris as he left the field. “Jeez, everyone felt for him. Potentially it could be his last game but we all made a joke with him, we said ‘one more season’.

“We don’t know about it, so I’m not sure if it’s a yes or a no! But what a legend, and what a servant to WP and Stormers rugby.

“Just the man that he is off the field, he’s got everyone’s respect and that’s exactly what happened, the second he walked off that field. Everyone realised the magnitude of the moment, and what it meant to him; it was a very, very emotional moment.”

Harris, who returned to Cape Town in 2021 after seven years with the Dragons in Wales, has amassed an incredible 433 first-class appearances, including 170 for the Stormers. His distinguished career includes winning the Currie Cup in 2012 and the URC in 2022.

Dobson, though, maintained perspective: “It’s tough now, tonight, and we’re all emotional but there are worse things in the world. When the doc came on the radio and said send the golf cart, I could hear ‘not a f-‘… I can’t say it… from Brokkie in the background!

“We’re all very sad. As Moon said, he’s just such an unbelievable human being. It’s not how we wanted him to finish and it puts us under a lot of pressure in terms of our roster, with the tighthead injuries… But what a giant of a man.”

Photo: Roger Sedres/Gallo Images