‘It Didn’t Sit Nicely’: Dobson Rejects Excuses As Stormers Plot Cardiff Revenge In Cape Town
The DHL Stormers will host their first home quarter-final since 2023 this weekend, and while confidence is high in Cape Town, director of rugby John Dobson has made it clear there is no danger of underestimating Cardiff after the Welsh side’s recent victory over his team.
Having already secured a home playoff spot with a round to spare, the Stormers have had time to reflect on their 22-16 defeat in Wales — a result that still lingers in the camp as they prepare for the rematch on home soil.
“Of course, we’re disappointed with what happened in Cardiff,” said Dobson.
“We haven’t had rugby in Cape Town for a few weeks now. It’s a knockout match, and we’re thrilled to be playing at a great time of the day. We’re playing in a fantastic stadium in front of a fantastic crowd.”
Despite the setback, Dobson insisted there is clarity and unity within the squad as they finalise preparations for the knockout tie.
“We are totally aligned, and we know what we have to fix. The players have had a lot of input,” he explained.
“Cardiff was a disappointing defeat for us, and we felt very poor afterwards. It didn’t sit well with us. We won’t use the 4G pitch as an excuse.”
A key focus heading into the quarter-final has been the Stormers’ defensive structure, particularly after Cardiff found success attacking the wide channels in the previous encounter.
However, Dobson believes the issues go deeper than just the edge defenders, pointing instead to breakdown pressure and overall defensive intensity.
“It’s not just down to the wide defenders,” said Dobson. “We lacked line speed and tackle dominance closer to the breakdown, and that makes things harder. We have some plans around our defence, and we let our standards slip a little bit.”
“Cardiff have a fast ruck speed. It is something we are acutely aware of, and we will be picked apart if we don’t defend it properly.”
Dobson emphasised that the Stormers must first win the physical battle at the contact area if they are to neutralise Cardiff’s attacking threats.
“You can look at personnel changes, but the most important thing for us is to get some tackle dominance closer to the breakdown to slow their ball down a bit, so we can get properly set out wide. It is a major focus point for us.”
With a place in the URC semi-finals on the line, the Stormers know precision, intensity, and discipline will be essential if they are to overturn their recent defeat and keep their title ambitions alive.
