The grizzled Brok Harris has embraced the unique challenge of packing down for the DHL Stormers against the Glasgow Warriors on the 4G field at Scotstoun Stadium.

The Stormers tackle the Warriors in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship on Sunday, visiting sub-zero Glasgow for the first time on an artificial turf that poses a daunting task for the Capetonians. Enter 37-year-old Harris, who also has a unique role of doubling up as a player and a coach in the camp.

Harris spent seven years in the United Kingdom playing for Welsh side the Dragons, battling the Warriors in European competition more than once, so is accustomed to northern hemisphere conditions and synthetic surfaces.

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The Stormers won 32-7 in the last meeting of the teams in 2021-22, but under former Springbok and Cheetahs assistant Franco Smith, the Scottish outfit have turned a corner and are up to sixth on the URC standings.

“They have a very good scrum and they play regularly on the artificial turf. We look forward to putting some things in place to get that edge,” Harris told reporters this week while explaining that the Warriors’ home patch was not yet a 4G when he last played there.

“The most important thing on the artificial turf is the speed of the scrum engagement. It doesn’t allow you to recover like on grass, so you have to be quick off the mark.”

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When not selected in the match 23, the veteran campaigner with more than 100 appearances for the Stormers has been spotted in the coaches’ box on game days.

Harris, who is able to play both loosehead and tighthead prop, added: “It was always my intention to go into the coaching side of it. That’s the plan, it’s nice to have one foot in the coach’s camp and one foot in the player’s camp.”