Stormers' veteran star on his way home
INJURY UPDATE: Springbok flanker Deon Fourie has been sidelined after suffering a serious arm injury in the Stormers’ beating of the Scarlets on Friday evening.
The Capetonians opened their three-match European tour with a bonus-point win, beating Scarlets 34-0 in Llanelli on Friday.
Although it was not a perfect performance, the Stormers solidified their credentials as URC contenders, as they kept another team scoreless this season.
Stormers coach John Dobson confirmed that the 39-year-old veteran will be out of action for a lengthy period of time.
“Deon’s devastated. A lot of tears in the change room. Deon was in tears.
“It’s a serious bicep injury that will require surgery, so he’ll go home,” the coach informed, adding, “It’s an emotional change room, and as much as the win is pleasing, it shows how tight this team is that they’re so upset about Deon.”
Fourie recently recovered from a lengthy leg injury that had kept him off the pitch for five months.
He replaced Evan Roos in the 57th minute and was only on the field for six minutes when the injury occurred.
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Fourie wasn’t the only casualty on the night, which saw the Stormers score five tries against the bottom of the loggers.
Tighthead prop Sazi Sandi left the field in the 50th minute and also faces time on the sidelines.
“Sazi will get scanned, and we’ll see where he stands.
“For now, he’s out. That’s three really good tightheads in Frans [Malherbe], Neethling [Fouche], and Sazi unavailable, and I don’t think any team can cater for that in their roster.
“But luckily we’ve got a great scrum culture and guys like Zach Porthen are coming through, we’ve got Hencus van Wyk, Corne Welbach, Oli Kebble can swing, so we should be able to keep our scrum culture going.”
The team now heads to Italy, where they will face Zebre and Benetton.
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