The injury blows the Stormers suffered against the Hurricanes was about the only bad thing about their opening performance in Super Rugby.
They were superb, and while this competition isn’t won in the first round, Stormers fans have more than enough reason to be optimistic about what’s to come.
John Dobson’s team’s 27-0 victory on Saturday afternoon was built on an outstanding effort from their Springbok-wealthy forward pack. Their scrum and maul were massive, and their breakdown work was big.
Captain Siya Kolisi, fellow loose forward Jaco Coetzee and hooker Bongi Mbonambi all left the field with injuries at the weekend. Kolisi was forced off after just 24 minutes with a knee injury he sustained while being tackled without the ball by Hurricanes hooker Ricky Riccitelli.
Mbonambi was also assisted off the field in the second half after suffering a hamstring injury.
During the post-match press conference, Dobson said that both Kolisi and Mbonambi will miss the big one against the Bulls this weekend.
“Siya has done a knee injury. He is being scanned. It is not an incidental injury. It is a hell of a blow, losing your skipper in the first 20 minutes of a campaign, given what he means to the team. He could be out for a few weeks. So it’s a big blow,” Dobson said.
“Bongi has done some hamstring damage. He is also being scanned. I don’t think they will be in the mix for this week.”