The Stormers moved to the top of the URC standings with a 48-12 demolition of Glasgow Warriors, but John Dobson faces an anxious wait on the fitness of Cobus Reinach after the scrumhalf was forced off before the hour mark with a knee injury.
Reinach's leg became trapped in a ruck cleanout, and he limped from the field to cast immediate doubt over his involvement in the Stormers' upcoming European tour — Ulster on 8 May and Cardiff on 15 May — ahead of the play-offs.
Dobson was candid in his assessment post-match. "I don't think so," he said when asked whether Reinach would travel to Ireland. "He is in a brace but hasn't been scanned yet. But I don't see him coming back for a while."
The nature of the injury compounds the concern. "It's his knee — hopefully it is menial and not the ACL," Dobson said. "I hope it's not that bad for the Springboks, because it's going to put us under a bit of pressure."
The timing is particularly cruel given Reinach had only recently returned from a hernia operation. "I thought Cobus played his best game in a while today. After the hernia operation, he looked like a comeback, so he's pretty upset in the changerooms," Dobson added.
On the field, the Stormers were ruthless, scoring six tries to two to leapfrog Franco Smith's Glasgow at the summit. The result underlines their play-off credentials, but the severity of Reinach's scan results will dictate how much that momentum can be sustained.