John Dobson says he is optimistic about what lies ahead for the DHL Stormers despite the disappointment of a quarter-final exit in Glasgow on Saturday. DYLAN JACK reports.
The Stormers’ campaign came to an end in a 27-10 defeat to Glasgow Warriors on a windy Saturday night at the Scotstoun Stadium.
While disappointed with how his team handled the conditions, Dobson said that the Stormers have proved in their campaign that they belong among the top teams in the URC.
“I’m pleased with the growth, in terms of getting experience, keeping the squad together, playing an away playoff despite the result in these conditions,” Dobson said. “The conditions were really tough tonight, but we showed that fight.
“We haven’t been as fluid as were in the first two seasons. But we were 13th after the [November] tour and we came back and finished fifth and we were in the fight here. So we belong at the top table of the URC. That’s important to confirm that. We aren’t just a flash in the pan.
“Going to two finals and then finishing fifth this season proved that we aren’t a flash in the pan. Not many teams could take out Evan Roos, Damian Willemse, Deon Fourie – they are world-class players – and win. We showed character playing without them. It gives me hope for this group.
“It’s brilliant. It gives me hope that we can get towards having two squads. We are still way off that, but we are a lot closer than we were at the beginning of the season.”
Seabelo Senatla and Ruhan Nel are each expected to make a comeback from long-term injury next season, and the Stormers will also be boosted by the return of veteran forwards Steven Kitshoff and JD Schickerling.
“Those are two massive acquisitions,” Dobson said. “We are basically keeping this team together. Then we are adding JD and Steven. We will also get Deon, Damian and Evan back. Hopefully Seabelo will be back and Ruhan Nel is coming back.
“So we will mount a better campaign. We won’t tour as poorly as we did this season. I am very confident about the future. I just would have loved to be in a semi-final. We were deservedly beaten in the end.”
Looking at the quarter-final itself, Dobson said he felt the Stormers could have pushed on to win in the final 10 minutes, but couldn’t readjust after a harsh scrum penalty call.
“I am disappointed. I’m proud of the effort, especially in the first half. At 13-10, I thought we had enough in us to close it out. Just a staggering scrum penalty that I didn’t understand and they got on top of us.
“They were more effective into the win than we were. In these conditions, you need to be really good into the wind. We didn’t kick particularly well. We also didn’t play particularly well with the wind.
“You can’t fault our physical effort or our staying in the fight. It doesn’t feel like a 27-10 game, but by that stage we were chasing it.”
Photo: Shaun Roy/BackpagePix
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John Dobson says he is optimistic about what lies ahead for the DHL Stormers despite the disappointment of a quarter-final exit in Glasgow on Saturday. @Vodacom #URC
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