An unbeaten Stormers can start dreaming of going deep into the Champions Cup after breezing past a young and inexperienced Stade Rochelais in Gqeberha on Saturday, coach John Dobson says.
After holding a 16-7 halftime lead, the Stormers powered away from a French outfit packed with academy players in front of 17,058 delighted supporters at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, winning 42-21.
After beating Bayonne away in their opening Champions Cup match last week, the Stormers have one foot in the playoffs with two pool matches remaining.
Despite scoring six tries and claiming a valuable bonus-point win, Dobson said hard work lay ahead of his team on the training pitch.
“I think we can start to dream about getting deeper into this tournament than we have got before,” he said.
“We want to be part of this tournament and South African teams don’t have a great record in it.
“Performances like this give us belief, but we also know we have to be better.
“It was about the outcome in the end, but it wasn’t a great process from us.
“There’s definitely stuff we didn’t get right that we spoke about during the week, and there’s work to do before the local derbies in the United Rugby Championship.
“That said, a home win in the Champions Cup was non-negotiable for us against Stade Rochelais.”
The Stormers burst out of the starting blocks with two early tries (and they also had two tries disallowed) before they lost their way in the first half against a stoic Stade Rochelais side.
“We started with great energy and intensity, and then it felt like it became too easy,” Dobson said.
“That’s where things got loose and we started forcing passes.
“Credit to Stade Rochelais, they fought hard, and that was a learning experience for us in terms of managing that part of the game.”
Dobson lauded loose forward Paul de Villiers who was named man of the match after an outstanding display.
“Paul is very, very special,” he said.
“Two years ago, he was getting cleaned out all the time and now he’s like a limpet. His decision-making is outstanding, and it’s great to see how he’s grown.
“We would’ve liked the win to be more perfect.
“There is stuff we did not get right today that we spoke about in the week.
“The Stormers must get that right before the upcoming local derbies in the United Rugby Championship.
“It felt like we were energised at the start scoring two quick tries and then there were two disallowed tries.
“I think we got seduced into it being too easy.
“To produce the intensity at the start, was very good. But we spiralled and they fought, to give them credit.”
Stormers captain Salmaan Moerat said his team had shown good intensity and physical intent in a must-win match.
“But as a pack we know we could have been much better and there still a lot for us to improve on,” he said.
“It’s never ideal to get a yellow card (Neethling Fouche for a high tackle).
“But what was really rewarding was seeing how the group galvanised and worked harder for each other when someone was off the field.”
After their match in Gqeberha, the Stormers face the Lions at home in the URC on December 20, Bulls away (December 27) and Bulls at home (January 3).
They resume their challenge for honours in the Champions Cup with an away match against Harlequins (January 11), before a home clash against the Leicester Tigers (January 17).
The Stormers are unbeaten in eight matches in all competitions and top the United Rugby Championship log.
Also on on Saturday, the Sharks scored a morale-boosting 28-23 win over the Saracens in Durban.
Scorers
- Stormers 42 - Tries: Dylan Maart (2), Leolin Zas, Andre-Hugo Venter, Warrick Gelant, Marcel Theunissen. Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (3). Penalty: Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2).
- La Rochelle 21 - Tries: Queintin Lespiaucq, Nika Sutidza and Nathan Bollengier. Conversions: Diego Jurd (3).
The Herald
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