Dobson Hails Sacha Kicking Mastery In Stormers Win Over Bristol

John Dobson praised Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s goal-kicking after the DHL Stormers began their Investec Champions Cup campaign with a crucial win over Bristol Bears at DHL Stadium on Saturday afternoon, while admitting that his side lacked energy in the first half.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu kicked all seven conversions and scored 14 points, missing just one penalty attempt.

The Stormers’ director of rugby described the flyhalf’s performance as “magical”, highlighting the impact his goal-kicking had on the scoreboard after it had been a concern for the Cape side this season.

“That’s a magical kicking performance. It’s been one of the season’s question marks. For him to do that is brilliant. It’s good for Sacha and made a big difference on the scoreboard,” Dobson said.

Despite being pleased with the result, Dobson acknowledged that the Stormers were not at their best in the opening exchanges. He suggested that his players may have expected the game to come too easily after establishing early dominance at scrum time.

“We thought that we were flat in the first half, energy-wise. We thought it was just going to come easily. Our scrum was dominant early on,” he explained.

The Stormers subsequently shifted into game-management mode after a 20-minute red card for JJ Kotze and a yellow card for Leolin Zas disrupted the flow of the contest.

Dobson felt that this approach limited his side’s ability to apply sustained pressure through its driving maul and scrum, ultimately disrupting the team’s momentum.

“Once the cards came, we went into game-management mode. Then you can’t tire them with the maul and the pressure of the scrum. We spent about 25 minutes in game management, and that took the flow out of our game,” he said.

The victory was particularly important for the Cape side as they opened their European campaign, with Dobson stressing that dropping points at home could have serious consequences for their qualification hopes.

“Today [Saturday] was our first game in the Investec Champions Cup, but if we don’t win today, we’re basically out of the European Cup, or we’re playing a play-off away from home,” Dobson said.

The Stormers face challenging away fixtures against Bordeaux and Gloucester, making a winning start at home particularly important.

“We have Bordeaux and Gloucester away. If you drop one at home, you’re gone, so this was about the outcome,” he added.

Although Dobson will want to see improvements in his side’s energy levels and attacking rhythm, the Stormers can take confidence from securing the result they needed. Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s accurate goal-kicking provided a significant boost as they look to build momentum in Europe.