The Stormers were not as clinical as they would have liked in their URC quarter-final against Cardiff and will need to improve against Leinster.
Stormers director of rugby John Dobson says his team need to be more clinical after their URC quarter-final win over Cardiff in Cape Town at the weekend. Picture: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
Stormers director of rugby John Dobson was happy with their latest result, but he believed his team still had plenty to work on ahead of their United Rugby Championship (URC) semifinal clash against Leinster in Dublin on Saturday.
The Stormers produced a strong final quarter to power away and clinch a comfortable looking 44-21 win over Cardiff in their URC quarter-final in Cape Town over the weekend.
But it was a much tighter game than the scoreline suggested, with Cardiff taking the lead in the first quarter, before trailing 21-7 at halftime.
In the second half they then wouldn’t go away as they fought back to trail 26-21 going into the final 10 minutes, before the Stormers added some gloss to the scoreline with two late tries and penalties.
Speaking after the match Dobson admitted his team should have been out of sight by halftime, and that they had to be more clinical.
Credit to Cardiff
“I give them (Cardiff) credit for their fight and the way they came back in the second half, but I don’t think we played poorly. I know with 15 minutes to go it was still an anxious game, but I thought our processes were pretty good,” said Dobson.
“The game should have been resolved by halftime, that’s the truth. It’s an old issue of ours, four entries, and we were minus seven points from the intercept, but the rest of the process I thought was sound.
“We had a template around the set-piece on how we wanted to play. I think we only broke it once, which might sound funny, but that’s very little for a game. So happy with the process, happy with the outcome, just a very expensive game (in terms of injuries).”
Dobson was also unhappy with the goal line drop out rule, after captain Ruhan Nel and replacement scrumhalf Stefan Ungerer were both held up over the line in the second half, which kept Cardiff in the game.
“That has been our whole season (in terms of missed chances). That’s the one law in rugby that has to change. I’m not saying that just because it’s against us,” said Dobson.
“I just don’t understand this concept. You do so well, and you’re rewarded with receiving the ball back on your 10-metre line. The old law was much better. If you attack well, five-metre scrum (if held up over the line).”
The Stormers now have to prepare for a far sterner test in their semifinal match against Leinster in Ireland, with the visitors missing up to four players from their quarter-final win, including star player Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
