Bleak outlook on the injury timelines for the Stormers' Bok duo
INJURY UPDATE: Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson confirmed the severity of two Springboks’ injuries following their 52-40 Round Four United Rugby Championship victory over Scarlets.
The Stormers lost starting hooker Andre-Hugo Venter, replacement Lukhanyo Vokozela and backup hybrid Deon Fourie in the contest, leaving Dobson’s team vulnerable in the No.2 position heading into their Round Five URC clash against Ulster.
Venter suffered an elbow injury and Fourie a hamstring blow.
The Stormers, in the meantime, recruited a familiar face in Bongi Mbonambi, who will feature off the bench with Venon Paulo starting against the visitors from Belfast.
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Dobson said that he fears the worst-case scenario for Venter and Fourie’s injuries and confirmed the estimated time they’ll spend on the sideline.
“Vennas [Andre-Hugo Venter] is a long-term injury; the best scenario is two months [sidelined],” Dobson said.
“If they do have to operate, it could be eight or nine months, so that probably brings more logic to the Bongi [Mbonambi] situation.
“Deon [Fourie] has a grade three hamstring injury; he says it doesn’t feel like a grade three injury, which maybe means we can shorten it to three months.
“Those are two big hookers [sidelined]. Deon would’ve slotted in at hooker this week if he’d been fit, but they’re both long-term injuries.
“Also, Boepa [Lukhanyo Vokozela] had a few concussions, so we’ve got to be conservative in that regard, so that’s part of the narrative why Bongi is here; we’re just a little bit thin [at hooker].”
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Shifting the focus to their battle against Ulster, Dobson touched on the Stormers’ record against the men from Belfast and how several factors beyond their control negatively affected their preparation for this clash.
“Neethling [Fouche] touched on the fact in the circle at training that we haven’t got a great record against Ulster.
“The best we managed in Belfast was a draw [last season]; yes, we won some games in Cape Town, but they’re a tricky team to put away.
“They’re a high ball-in-hand team. We do have some threats to us with the [Springbok] guys going on tour on Sunday. It’s a tricky game for us that’s a must-win.
“You can’t afford to lose a home game in the URC against Ulster; it’s got to be a game you have to win.
“There’s a little bit of pressure, and we’ve had a bit of a disruptive time; I feel that game against Scarlets took a lot out of us, and more emotionally than anything else.
“We had to adapt to that and then some uncertainty in the squad around the Springbok announcement and those sort of things.
“It’s potentially a tricky game, and I felt they [Ulster] were excellent in that second half against the Bulls.”
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