Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

'It is freakish... it's terrible' - RWC finalist duo out for months

(Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

Stormers coach John Dobson has lamented the “traumatic” injuries suffered by his Springbok World Cup final stars this Super Rugby season that will also play on the mind of new national team coach Jacques Nienaber.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Stormers were early-season front-runners in Super Rugby before back-to-back losses halted their progress, and they are currently training in isolation in Cape Town with the competition on hold due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Video Spacer

The good news is that Bok captain Siya Kolisi is on the mend and four weeks away from fitness after he was injured in the season-opening win over the Hurricanes, but there is little other reason for cheer.

The latest injuries are to halfback Herschel Jantjies(fractured fibula) and prop Steven Kitshoff (pectoral muscle), who are expected to be out for three and four months respectively.

“We had six guys who played in the World Cup and five are now out with long-term injuries. These are all deeply traumatic injuries, nothin g to do with load. It is something you can’t explain,” Dobson said.

“It is freakish, because it is not a conditioning issue. You saw Siya’s tackle, how Bongi’s (Mbonambi) leg got bent back at a ruck, Herschel fractures a fibula … it’s terrible.”

Dobson also revealed that lock and World Rugby Player of the Year Pieter-Steph du Toit is expected to be out for three months after he picked up a hematoma that developed into acute compartment syndrome and put him at risk of losing his leg following the loss to the Auckland Blues last month.

ADVERTISEMENT

“We are not the Stormers we were at the start of the season,” he said.

“Take five World Cup finalists out of any team and it is a struggle. But we have got depth and have shown character.”

The world champion Boks are scheduled to face Scotland in two tests in July, as well as a one-off game against Georgia, though a final decision on those matches will be made next month.

The coronavirus outbreak has shut down sport around the world, with top competitions called off as governments ban mass gatherings and tighten border controls as part of efforts to contain the virus, which has killed more than 9,000 people.

– AAP

ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

F
Flankly 1 hour ago
'Absolute madness': Clive Woodward rips into Borthwick in wake of NZ loss

Borthwick is supposed to be the archetypical conservative coach, the guy that might not deliver a sparkling, high-risk attacking style, but whose teams execute the basics flawlessly. And that's OK, because it can be really hard to beat teams that are rock solid and consistent in the rugby equivalent of "blocking and tackling".


But this is why the performance against NZ is hard to defend. You can forgive a conservative, back-to-basics team for failing to score tons of tries, because teams like that make up for it with reliability in the simple things. They can defend well, apply territorial pressure, win the set piece battles, and take their scoring chances with metronomic goal kicking, maul tries and pick-and-go goal line attacks.


The reason why the English rugby administrators should be on high alert is not that the English team looked unable to score tries, but that they were repeatedly unable to close out a game by executing basic, coachable skills. Regardless of how they got to the point of being in control of their destiny, they did get to that point. All that was needed was to be world class at things that require more training than talent. But that training was apparently missing, and the finger has to point at the coach.


Borthwick has been in the job for nearly two years, a period that includes two 6N programs and an RWC campaign. So where are the solid foundations that he has been building?

4 Go to comments
LONG READ
LONG READ The joy, spirit and obstacles of the rugby pilgrim The joy, spirit and obstacles of the rugby pilgrim
Search