The Stormers have emerged from Friday's 21-38 loss to the All Blacks at DHL Stadium with a damaging injury toll, most critically at scrumhalf where both Imad Khan and Dewaldt Duvenage are sidelined.
Khan hobbled off after just three minutes with what John Dobson described as a "reasonably serious knee injury" — he was later seen on crutches. Duvenage, brought on as replacement, suffered a broken arm in the second half in what proved to be his final appearance for the franchise. The 38-year-old's exit left the Stormers without a recognised scrumhalf on the field, a situation that had the referee frustrated as the captaincy kept changing due to injuries. "It's funny because the ref was getting irritated because we kept changing captains, but what were we meant to do? They all got injured," Dobson said.
Ruhan Nel also left with a calf injury, while Deon Fourie went off at the 61-minute mark, though Dobson confirmed Fourie's issue is not serious.
Despite losing both scrumhalves in a single match, Dobson expressed confidence in the depth available ahead of the URC campaign starting in September, pointing to Stefan Ungerer and Ezekiel Ngobeni — both currently featuring in the Currie Cup — as cover. He also noted that Cobus Reinach will return at some stage.