Stormers lose their playmaker ahead of Clermont clash
REACTION: Stormers head coach John Dobson confirmed that flyhalf Manie Libbok will not be available for his team’s final Champions Cup Pool match against Clermont in Cape Town on Saturday.
The Springbok was forced to leave the field in the 18th minute after a head collision with London Irish fullback Ben Loader.
Loader received a red card for the high tackle. It was the first of two red cards for the home side in the Round Three encounter, which the Stormers won 28-14.
Libbok did not return to the field after that with Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu playing the rest of the match at No.10.
“He [Libbok] got a knock to his head and he failed his HIA [Head Injury Assessment],” Dobson told reporters after the match.
“There is a joke that he failed the ‘language Test’.
“It’s a concussion and he will have to go through the whole protocol now.”
On that red-card incident, Dobson believes there was no malice.
“There’s no way Ben Loader comes in there trying to decapitate Manie. It’s one hell of a tough situation – play was moving fast, it was a two on one, there was a try at risk,” Dobson explained.
“You want to see if you can make a hit and move across. But it’s a red card. We don’t view it as any form of malice, but it’s also not great when your Springbok flyhalf is out of the game with an HIA.”
Dobson is comfortable with his flyhalf options for the clash against Clermont. The Stormers need a point from that match to ensure their passage to the knockouts.
“We got options at No.10. We trained Sacha at No.15 and No.12, so it was probably a mistake to put him straight on at No.10 on my part,” said the coach.
“But he is an option at No.10. The other options are Damian Willemse, Jean-Luc du Plessis and Kade Wolhuter, so we will be fine there.”
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Additional source: AFP
