Cape Town – The DHL Stormers wore black armbands on their left arms in their hard fought 29-24 Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) victory against the Emirates Lions at the DHL stadium to commemorate the passing of skills coach Labeeb Levy’s father on Saturday afternoon.
Tahir Levy, a well-known community activist in Cape Town died aged 89 after suffering a short illness at 06:00 on Saturday morning. Tahir is also the father of former WP Rugby vice-president Moneeb Levy. As a result both Labeeb and Moneeb were unable to be present at the game.
As a champion of the community, Tahir Levy, was honoured by the City of Cape Town for being the voice of the voiceless as well as providing hope for the downtrodden. He was a pioneering community leader with a heart of gold dedicating his life to the service of others.
Stormers director of rugby John Dobson, forwards coach Rito Hlungwani, conditioning coach Riefaat Jappie, captain Salmaan Moerat as well as winger Suleiman Hartzenberg visited Levy’s father’s home in Woodstock to show their support and pay their last respects on Saturday evening.
Moerat said the gesture to wear black armbands was due to “the very sad news of Beeba’s (Levy’s) father’s passing.”
“Beeba is obviously very dear to our hearts. I’m pretty sure every player in the team loves Beeba for the person that he is. He always brings a smile to our faces. I think it was just a very small gesture but a powerful one just to commemorate the life that he lived. He was obviously a very affluent man (in terms of abundance of joy and wisdom) in the community. He played a massive role in Beeba’s life and in our lives.
“I was fortunate enough to see him in hospital about a week ago and he seemed very strong. I think it is our responsibility as members of the team to show our support to whoever it might be. I think that is crucially important,” said Moerat.
Despite losing Angelo Davids to a red card early in the second half for a high tackle, the Stormers still showed tremendous resilience and character to beat the Lions who led 21-12 at half time.
“Yes, it was ugly,” admitted Moerat.
“We couldn’t really tap into our DNA with the way we like to play with the flashy, flamboyant rugby, but I think we showed a lot of character especially when we got the red card.
“Being one man down and to pull out a win at the end was really a testament to the character of the team. I think it will be very good for this team going forward.
Moerat said the Stormers has shown an enormous amount of growth. They might be on the road now depending of the result between the Sharks and the Bulls, but he thinks it’s a challenge that they are looking forward to.
“For the past two years we played home play-offs and finals. So we’re not really tested to that extent. I think this year is going to be a completely different test.
“We got two out of two wins from the tour that we just came back from now. That should give us a lot of confidence and hopefully we can carry on with that confidence and belief that we can win away from home.
“When we got the red card we had to pull together and work a bit harder. When there is a man down it is really hard on your defensive system. A winger in our system is crucially important especially on our defensive reads. So, I think the way the guys galvanised and worked together was magnificent.
“Towards the end when Francke Horn almost scored in the corner, it was Brok Harris who made the tackle. For a prop to get there to stop the off-load and Sasha (Feinberg-Mngomezulu) to make that tackle you can’t buy it and just showed the determination of the team,” added Moerat.
The home side scored through Andre Hugo Venter, Davids, Evan Roos and Adre Smith with Manie Libbok adding three conversions and a penalty.
The Lions scored two tries thanks to Francke Horn and JC Pretorius while Jaden Hendrikse kicked one conversion and four penalties.
The Stormers now face their first-ever away play-off in the URC when they face coach Franco Smith’s Glasgow Warriors in Scotland next weekend.
SCORERS
DHL Stormers 29 – Tries: Andre-Hugo Venter, Angelo Davids, Evan Roos and Adre Smith; Conversions: Manie Libbok 3; Penalty: Manie Libbok
Emirates Lions 24 – Tries: Francke Horn and SJ Pretorius; Conversion: Jordan Hendrikse; Penalties: Jordan Hendrikse 4.
