Dobson Admits Stormers’ Performance Hampered By Being Too Loose
DHL Stormers director of rugby John Dobson admitted that his side was guilty of allowing the game to become too loose after a strong start in their United Rugby Championship game against Dragons RFC.
“I do believe we got a bit loose,” said Dobson. “We tried a few more things in the second half, although we turned over more balls in the second half than we did the first.”
The Stormers followed up their crucial victory over the Vodacom Bulls last week with a scrappy win over a spirited Dragons on their return to DHL Stadium.
After taking an early 14-0 lead courtesy of a brace of tries by Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, both assisted by Imad Khan, it seemed the Stormers would run away with the game with a big score on the cards.
“I think we were seduced by space and a real desire to put the game to bed. We probably employed the wrong methodology,” admitted Dobson.
“We got a bit loose, but I believe it’s either we were seduced by space or wanted to wrap up the game,” he said.
“As if to say, let’s do something special and wrap up the game rather than roll up our sleeves and grind.”
True to the reputation of the Welsh side, their perseverance and resilient nature meant the Stormers would have to work for victory. And work for it they did, as the final result was a mere eight-point victory.
There could be a certain degree of dissatisfaction as it appeared that the Cape side lacked some composure in attacking moments when it was needed, and got suckered into making it a loose, scrappy affair, playing into the hands of the Welsh, something captain Ruhan Nel alluded to.
“Just based on analysis, they’re quite soft on the line. It’s not a hard rush defence where they’re trying to get in your face,” said Nel.
“You can get to that space quite easily, but they are quite strong, having the leg tackle, getting over the ball, and disrupting the base,” the Stormers captain explained.
Even though the Stormers had many opportunities to put more points on the board and put the game to bed, Nel appeared chuffed that while they weren’t executing well, his side were at least creating chances.
“Sometimes we got into space but we just weren’t accurate enough so credit to them. They disrupted us there but it’s encouraging for us. I’d rather have ten opportunities missed than one created all game.”
The DHL Stormers will now turn their attention to their next home game against Edinburgh on Saturday [19:00].
