Stormers XXIII coach Tom Dawson-Squibb hopes a reshuffled squad can provide the spark needed to keep their Currie Cup playoff hopes alive when they face the Bulls XV at Loftus on Friday.
Injuries to experienced halfbacks Steph Ungerer and Jean-Luc du Plessis, among others, are expected to force changes to the team, but Dawson-Squibb believes the disruption could create opportunities for others.
“We want to go to Loftus with energy and be proud of our performance,” Dawson-Squibb said following his side’s 29-7 loss to the Pumas in Mbombela.
“I’m pretty sure there’ll be some enforced changes next week, but that might give us some really nice energy and impetus where guys get opportunities.”
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The Stormers have endured a frustrating campaign, with results failing to reflect some of the progress Dawson-Squibb believes his players have made.
They had an opportunity to beat the Cheetahs two weeks ago but came up short, while their latest defeat left them sixth on the log with two rounds remaining.
“Individually, it’s been a really progressive campaign. I know that’s difficult to hear because we haven’t won the games we want to,” Dawson-Squibb said.
“I think we had an opportunity against Cheetahs to win that game and we didn’t. And then last night [Saturday], we probably didn’t have the opportunity. But if you look at the [number of] chances created, it was quite high.”
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The challenge now is turning those opportunities into points while fixing the areas that have prevented the Stormers from converting their performances into victories.
“I think there’s some key areas of our game that didn’t quite fire as we would have liked them to,” Dawson-Squibb added. “And that’s what we’ve got to work on.”
Photo: Dirk Kotze/Gallo Images
The post ‘We want to go to Loftus with energy’ appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Stormers XXIII coach Tom Dawson-Squibb hopes a reshuffled squad can provide the spark needed to keep their Currie Cup playoff hopes alive when they face the Bulls XV at Loftus on Friday.
The post ‘We want to go to Loftus with energy’ appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
