Coach John Dobson has expressed his delight with the impact Brok Harris has had on the Stormers as the veteran prepares to play his long-awaited 100th match for the team this weekend.
Harris is set to win become a Stormers centurion in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship match against the Sharks in Cape Town on Saturday.
When the swing prop left to join Dragons in Wales seven years ago, Harris was stuck on 93 caps and having spent a further seven years in Newport, it seemed unlikely that he would ever get to his century.
However, the offer of a homecoming came through last year and Harris grabbed it with both hands, quickly finding himself in the match-day squad as the Stormers struggled with injuries in the front row.
His performances have been to the level where he has stabilised the Stormers scrum when it has been in trouble, such as it was against the Sharks in Durban on Saturday.
“It is unbelievable. After leaving seven years ago, I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would get the opportunity to get to 100 caps,” Harris told media on Wednesday. “I was seven short, so when I got the opportunity to return it was obviously a no-brainer.
“I just got back and tried to contribute as much as I could and get that 100 and here it is. So, I am very happy.
“It is crazy to think about, starting in 2007 as a youngster, literally one of the younger guys in the squad. Now, all of a sudden, I am one of the oldest. It happens so quickly.”
Dobson, who was still coaching at the University of Cape Town when Harris started his Stormers career, said the initial plan was to bring him back as a scrum coach after Hanyani Shimange’s departure.
“We got Brokkie initially because we wanted somebody to work on our scrum, especially after Shimmy had left. Brok was part of an amazing scrum culture which was established here from 2008 onwards as our scrum got more and more dominant. We needed somebody who could help the youngsters and the senior team, but also to bail us out if we ever needed him on the field.
“It didn’t take long until he was on the field and he was absolutely amazing on that URC tour. Our front row did really well at scrum time. He then became a starter, so he’s still got a coaching and mentorship role, but it is very difficult to coach scrumming when you are right in the middle of it.
“Without Neethling and Frans, he has had to help us now and move across to tighthead. It’s a hell of an achievement, he has played so much at loosehead. He has had to go from coaching, to playing at loosehead, to moving across and playing at tighthead.
“It wasn’t our original plan. I thought he would just be coaching and only playing if needed. Now he is the yster [iron] of the scrum.”
Dobson said that he hopes Harris can give the team another season as a player before he transitions permanently into coaching.
“He can stay as long as he wants,” Dobson said, laughing. “Look it’s up to Brok and his family, what he wants to do. He has still got quite a bit of rugby left in him, but it’s up to him. He is just such a quality human being.
“I haven’t spoken to him about it. Hopefully, it’s another season of the URC and then coaching comes up again. He is certainly somebody we want to retain.”
Photo: Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images
