DHL Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson said at a post-match interview that the red card for Damian Willemse against Cardiff could have a major impact on their URC Title aspirations.
The match featured two red cards for the "same" offence, Willemse’s dismissal for a high hit on Cardiff winger Gabe Hamer-Webb and Danny Southworth for a dangerous tackle on Stormers prop Neethling Fouche.
Dodson said they will try to prepare their “best defence” for Damian Willemse in the coming days. The Stormers will review the footage of the Willemse incident to see if they can spot any mitigation that they can use.
The minimum sanction for an offence like Willemse's carry a minimum sanction of between two to four weeks, depending if Willemse's offence is deemed an accident or being on purpose.
“We will mount our best defence. We can’t appeal until there is a decision. We can decide if we are going to wait for them to give us a ruling or we can go straight to the judicial officer. I think if we go straight to a judicial officer, there is more chance of a better sanction, but there will still be a sanction."
“I haven’t seen it enough to comment on the impact of Zassie’s tackle. I don’t know if it was enough. It was our fault. Gaza wasn’t released from the inside by Zas, and then he was stuck and he turned, so I don’t think he was trying to hit with a shoulder, he was trying to turn."
“I don’t see them overturning it unless Zas has clearly caused the height to come down. It sounds like it is grey. It’s a disaster for us. The implications, I’m sure, are going to be poor for us. I’ve got no doubt.”