Stormers will be better after tough lessons, says Dobson

Tough lessons were learnt by the high-flying Stormers before they were able to emerge with a vital 34-27 win over the Lions in a fiery South Africa derby showdown in Cape Town on Saturday, coach John Dobson said.

The Stormers, who trailed 17-10 at halftime, were forced to defend bravely during a bonus point victory which enabled them to stretch their unbeaten record to seven matches in the United Rugby Championship (URC).

Though he was unhappy with certain aspects of his team’s display, Dobson praised the Stormers’ defensive resolve against a livewire Lions outfit.

Apart from their winning spree in the URC, the Stormers are also well placed to reach the knockout stage of the Investec Champions Cup after victories over Bayonne and Stade Rochelais.

“We’re doing an amazing job, but we’re not quite there yet,” Dobson said. “This was a tough derby, and we’ll be better for the lessons we take from it.

“We missed two kickoffs, and physically they were on top of us for a large portion of the game. The Stormers knew they’d come hard and we’d have to weather the storm, but I didn’t expect them to get so many yards so easily.”

Dobson said his team had been dominated physically in the opening stages.

“The overriding disappointment for me was how we didn’t close that game out,” he said. “At 14 points up, we should never have made it that difficult. That’s normally something we’re good at.

“There’s something in this group. We don’t have a squad full of big names. It’s just a bunch of guys willing to work for each other and do the ugly, unseen stuff.”

Dobson praised loose forward Paul de Villiers, who was named Man of the Match.

“Paul is special. You could see the Lions actively avoiding him,” he said. “He’s bailed us out a lot this season.”

Stormers captain Salmaan Moerat said his team had fronted up well in the scrums.

“We’re getting a lot of reward off our scrum, which is giving us entries into the 22,” he said. “A lot of credit must go to forwards coach Rito Hlungwani and the boys for the work they’ve put into the maul and lineout.”

Moerat said the state of the playing surface at the Cape Town Stadium after last week’s motocross event had not concerned his team.

“The bounce of the ball was hectic at times, but overall the pitch held nicely,” he said. “Conditions were the same for both teams.”

Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen said he took many positives out of his team’s display despite the loss.

“I think we played well enough to get the win,” he said. “In one or two moments, the ball bounced back 30m off the cricket pitch. That’s the game; it was really small margins.

“I’m proud of the effort and proud of the solutions we found. We lost two No 5 locks in 20 minutes. We showed great character and great fight.

“One or two calls that could’ve gone either way probably didn’t go our way, and I think that was probably the difference. We played against probably the most in-form team in world rugby.

“After a performance like that, I’d be surprised if we get into a slump. I’m really proud of the effort.”

Stormers 34 - Tries: Dylan Maart, Wandisile Simelane, Paul de Villiers, Evan Roos; Conversions: Jurie Matthee (4). Penalties: Matthee (2)

Lions 27 - Tries: Ruan Venter (2), Kelly Mpeku. Conversions: Chris Smith (3); Penalties: Smith (2)

The Herald