Dobson Hails Bonus-Point URC Win In Galway

DHL Stormers head coach John Dobson praised his side’s character and the impact of their young players after they secured a hard-fought, deserved bonus-point victory over Connacht in their opening United Rugby Championship fixture in Galway on Friday night.

The Stormers were forced into a major reshuffle, with several loose forwards unavailable for selection due to their involvement with the Springboks and other reasons.

Despite the disruption, the Cape side produced a performance that left their coach proud.

“I am very proud of that performance. We made it more difficult than it needed to be,” Dobson said.

The Stormers dominated large periods of the match, particularly in the first half, but failed to capitalise on their opportunities. Having established a 10-0 lead, they were punished late in the opening 40 minutes as Connacht scored two tries in quick succession to take a 12-10 lead into the break.

“If we had converted our chances when it was 10-0 rather than concede those two tries, we would have turned with the wind.”

Dobson felt the Stormers ultimately deserved their victory, particularly given the challenges they had faced during the week.

“Given the disruptions of this week, it was an extraordinary performance. Process-wise, we deserved to win. Our plan was good,” he said.

“There were some mistakes, but we were the dominant team. To reshuffle as we did with about 10 loose forwards unavailable – Louw (Nel), Hacjivah (Dayimani) and Riley (Norton) were superb.”

The Stormers also handed debuts to Vernon Paulo and Ezekiel Ngobeni, with both debutants making an immediate impact by scoring tries.

“The nice romantic story would be of Vernon and Ezekiel making their debuts and both scoring tries,” Dobson said.

The Stormers’ youngsters also played a key role, with Yaqeen Ahmed, Riley Norton and Oli Reid among those to impress.

“To get through the game without any real injury concerns and the performance of the youngsters – Yaqeen Ahmed was really mature, Riley Norton was exceptional, and Oli Reid was also really impressive,” Dobson added.

After allowing Connacht back into the contest before half-time, the Stormers regained control in the second half and closed out the match emphatically, outscoring the hosts 19-3 in the final 40 minutes.

The victory secured five valuable log points for the Stormers, including a bonus point for scoring four tries – a particularly pleasing return given the difficulty of playing away in Galway.

“To get five points in a place like this where it is tough to play was very satisfying. We felt it was a good day at the office,” Dobson said.