Krige ‘regrets incident’

Krige was cited and charged, for a head-butt on Chiefs centre, Derek Maisey, in Fridays’ round 10 Vodacom Super 12 clash in Hamilton.

“This is obviously not how I wanted to end my Stormers playing days. In the heat of battle things happen from time to time. I feel like I have let the team and supporters down and regret the incident. That said, the team has it within reach to succeed this year and they certainly have the talent and spirit to finish it off without me.

“They know what they have to do and I believe that they can complete what we have set out to achieve this season. This will remain the teams’ sole focus at this time,” said Investec Stormers captain Corné Krige.

“It is enormously disappointing to lose my captain. Corné is an experienced and talented campaigner and will be missed. We are however in the fortunate position of having ample, young, talented firepower available, in the form of Schalk Burger. We have a number of experienced leaders in the squad, the spirit is good and the team remains a closely knit unit. We know what we have to do and remain focused on achieving our goals,” said Investec Stormers coach Gert Smal.

Krige will travel to Christchurch to rejoin the Investec Stormers and will only be available for further comment after having considered the consequences of the verdict. The team and management will remain focused on their first goal of a last 4 berth in this years Vodacom Super 12.