Three yellow cards, one upgraded to red, proved costly for the Stormers in a tight semifinal defeat.
Referee Hollie Davidson shows a yellow card to Ruan Ackermann of the Stormers during the URC semifinal against Leinster at Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday. Picture: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile via Getty Images
The Stormers United Rugby Championship (URC) title aspirations were extinguished after a valiant semifinal showdown against defending champions Leinster in Dublin on Saturday night.
It was a brutal clash that saw an incredible defensive effort from the Cape visitors almost help them upset the heavy favourites, before ill-discipline proved costly, as they slipped to a 20-11 defeat.
Three yellow cards in the second half, one that was deservedly upgraded to a red, made the difference as Leinster saw out the win, after they were pushed to the brink by a fighting Stormers team.
After the match Stormers director of rugby John Dobson admitted the decision to send off Ruan Ackermann for a reckless cleanout was correct.
But he was confused by the yellow card given to Salmaan Moerat for a deliberate kick of the ball, which on replays looked to be a mistake, while Leolin Zas also picked up a yellow for a deliberate knock-on.
“That (Ackermann yellow upgraded to red) was definitely the right call. I have apologised to Leo (Cullen, Leinster director of rugby) for the first one. That is the kind of incident we have to get out of the game,” said Dobson.
“It was shoulder to head. If you allow that, there will be no space for jackalling in the game. It was a huge setback for us, as at the time we felt we could see cracks showing with Leinster, certainly physically. I didn’t understand the second yellow card (to Moerat) but I only saw the incident once.
Dared to dream
“For 68 minutes, we dared to dream. When we got into their 22, which we didn’t do often in the second half, had we converted (that territorial position), then we would have been in a good position because they were looking tired.”
Dobson said he was proud of the effort of his team, after they were well in the game at 13-11 going into the final 12 minutes, before the two late cards and a late try, while they were also missing some star players who picked up injuries in their quarter-final win over Cardiff.
“If you consider we had three yellow cards in the second half, and that we were without key players including Sacha (Feinberg-Mngomezulu), then it was a very competitive performance,” said Dobson.
“I think we can take some confidence from how we fought given all of that, but I am just disappointed that we couldn’t get a semifinal in Cape Town.
“We have always wanted to play their full-strength team at the Aviva, and now we have, and we went toe to toe with them and, I mean this in a good way, I think after tonight they will have respect for us.”
