Dobbo delights in Stormers’ fight

Director of rugby John Dobson hails the Stormers’ resilience in difficult conditions in Pretoria that ended a four-game slump and reignited their Vodacom URC playoff hopes.

Dobson’s charges edged the Vodacom Bulls 19-16 on Saturday in a tense North-South derby at rain-hit Loftus Versfeld, boosting the Stormers’ bid for a place among the top eight teams ahead of their next match against Scarlets on 22 March.

“It’s obviously a special place to win,” he said post-match. “From the first kick-off, the way we counter-rucked, we just fought and fought and fought for every scrap, every contact point, everything like that. So that was probably the most pleasing thing.

“And then if I was to single somebody out, I’d say Jurie Matthee; he’s an unheralded guy and in those conditions, he did a really, really good job. But the most pleasing thing was our fight, you know, we didn’t go away.”

Matthee’s 14 points off the kicking tee proved decisive, with the flyhalf controlling the game expertly alongside scrumhalf Stefan Ungerer. Dobson credited their selection, given the wet conditions that reduced the game to an attritional battle.

RECAP: Stormers end drought at soaked Loftus

“I could say it was my advanced meteorological skills because we chose [them] two weeks ago, because we had a bye,” Dobson quipped about the half-back pairing. “But Stef Ungerer is exceptional. He’s one of the best kicking nines in South Africa, we’re still going to see the best of him. So that really did work for us.”

With the weather limiting expansive play, Dobson admitted the Stormers initially overplayed before adjusting their approach.

“I still thought we did a bit with the ball, and the first half was a bit frustrating. I thought we could have kicked earlier. And we were trying to sort of move it around a bit, which was one of the messages at half time,” he said. 

“That sounds really simplistic: kick quicker, kick sooner. I thought we were poor like that in the first half. But then in the second half, we were really a bit more direct with the kicking.”

The win was built on a powerful forward effort, spearheaded by No 8 Evan Roos, who was named Man of the Match for his relentless ball carrying and breakdown work.

“Obviously, we missed Gert Smal… And Carel [du Plessis], those were two big losses. But Evan stood in well for Gert,” Dobson joked. “No, I’m being flippant because the injury thing is an issue across all the teams. I felt for the Bulls today, they had three guys go off.

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“But Evan is a giant. And what I like about Evan now is he’s not the Evan of two years ago. The hot-headed elements are not there,” he added. “But secondly, he’s so well-marked, isn’t he, and he still does all the yeoman work. 

“He’s not doing the crazy breaks that he got and all that a while ago, but he just carries and works and carries and works, and cleans. A much more mature sort of player.”

The result breathes life into the Stormers’ playoff charge, in 12th place on the URC standings with a crucial two-match tour to Scarlets and Ulster when they return to action in two weeks’ time.

“I’ve got this sort of an app, a document. We punch in the week’s results … and suddenly we’ve gone from relegation to having a chance at the top six,” Dobson said.

“I’m being flippant [again] but we’ve got to go on a tour where we play Scarlets and Ulster. We get one of those and then we’ve got a nice four-game home run. That should put us properly in the mix.

“We needed to win two of the four [away games to get top six]. We lost the Lions one so we needed this one. 

“One out of the two on tour, and we get the home ones, we’re actually going to probably finish in a similar position to last year. I think it’s too late for a home playoff, unfortunately.”

Photo: Gordon Arons/Gallo Images