John Dobson hailed Brok Harris as “one of the greatest DHL Stormers of all time” as the veteran prop makes his 150th appearance in Cape Town on Saturday.
Harris will make his 150th appearance for the DHL Stormers in the crunch Vodacom URC clash against Leinster on Saturday night.
It will be the 39-year-old’s fifth straight start, a run which includes the Champions Cup playoff against La Rochelle, as the Stormers have experienced an injury crisis at loosehead prop.
“Brok, to my mind, is going to go down as one of the greatest Stormers of all time,” Dobson said, during a press conference on Friday afternoon.
“If you put up a Stormers Hall of Fame with 10 names, Brokie would be up there with all the Springboks like Jean [de Villiers], Schalk [Burger] and Jaque [Fourie].
“His approach to the game, his balance between the detail and understanding the project and the team spirit and culture. He coaches the U21 forwards, he will go from here to an U21 session.
“He must be the most popular Stormer,” Dobson added. “I never knew Brok, I hadn’t coached him because I was still with the juniors when he left to go to Wales. Being able to coach him and get to know him has been one of the highlights of my career.
“We are trying to persuade him to stay longer, but he may transition to coaching sooner than later. It’s an incredible achievement.”
Harris was just short of 100 caps when he left the Stormers for a stint with Dragons, where he also reached a century of appearances.
Returning to Cape Town as a player-coach in 2021, Harris has shot past his initial target of 100 Stormers caps and is setting the record for most appearances for the team.
“It’s a really special occasion,” Harris said. “I always said that I just wanted to come back to get to 100. I needed seven more caps when I left. Now I’m on 150.
“To run out with my kids, I couldn’t do that in my 100th because of Covid and all that, it’s going to be special. I am looking forward to it.”
The Stormers will be looking to make Harris’ landmark match special by getting their run to the playoffs back on track against the log leaders.
“It all comes down to mindset and execution,” Harris said. “We know that we have to be on top of our game tomorrow. Leinster is a quality outfit. If we aren’t on top of it, we will struggle.”
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
