Stormers call for harsher 'consequences' after Deon Fourie's injury against Ulster

The 39-year-old was forced off after his knee was caught in a croc roll at a breakdown involving Ulster lock Iain Henderson, with Henderson's initial yellow card later upgraded to a 20-minute red on review.

"All I can tell you is he came off the field wearing a [knee] brace," Stormers defence coach Norman Laker said on Monday. "He's most probably flying back to South Africa to get a scan and diagnosis."

Henderson was initially shown a yellow card, which was later upgraded to a 20-minute red after review, though the Stormers felt the sanction did little to reflect the impact of the incident.

"We've lost one of our captains, which is quite disappointing," Laker said. "It's not nice to lose one of our top, most-capped players because of an incident like that.

"On field, I really thought it must have been a red card," a still bristling Laker added. "I do think there must be consequences."

The Stormers were also left frustrated by a second breakdown incident earlier in the match, when Evan Roos was cleaned out after contesting a breakdown following a Dan du Plessis tackle.

"Evan was luckily a lone cleaner, but it was also from the side," said Laker.

"I understand Dan did not roll away, so that is the first offence. But then it was a side clean and was also still foul play.

"I'd rather give a penalty immediately than have a player cleaning from the side, because it easily could have led to injury.

"With Evan it could have been a similar situation [to Fourie]."

Laker also raised concerns about the increasing use of artificial surfaces at venues such as Ulster and Cardiff, suggesting they may contribute to a higher injury risk.

"Your feet get stuck [on 4G], but on grass your foot might give way and your knees or ankles might be fine."

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