Tom Dawson-Squibb and Jean-Luc du Plessis hailed the character of the Stormers XXIII after Friday’s result at Cape Town Stadium, but insisted the club has “a long way to go”.
In Dawson-Squibb’s first game in charge, Stefan Ungerer’s late try for the Stormers sealed a 25-19 win over Griquas to snap an eight-match losing streak against the defending Currie Cup champions.
“You never want to get too high or too low, but we feel good,” the head coach said. “It wasn’t pretty, but I’m massively proud of the character.”
The Stormers were undone by ill-discipline in the first half of their season-opener, conceding two yellow cards and repeated penalties that let Griquas build a foothold through tries from Sako Makata and Lourens Oosthuizen.
“[Penalties] was a huge frustration,” Dawson-Squibb said. “I can’t fault the bravery; we had 13 men at one stage and we kept defending. But our discipline needs to get better, no doubt about that.”
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Vernon Paulo and Mfundo Ndhlovu tries either side of the break gave the hosts the lead, but Dawson-Squibb said the reduced penalty count in the second 40 brought little relief.
“We halved our penalties but it didn’t give us more territory, so we had to keep working hard. We have to go back to the drawing board and channel that enthusiasm into accurate execution.”
Captain Du Plessis, who opened the scoring with a penalty before departing with a knee injury at the interval, added: “The attitude was definitely there.
“We knew the challenge that was ahead of us, but we know what we are capable of, and had belief in ourselves.
“I said to the guys in the changing room, ‘thank you, this means a lot to me’. It’s only the first game … but to win like we did at home, it feels lekker.”
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Dawson-Squibb, a former Proteas performance specialist and UCT Ikeys boss, was also quick to downplay his impact at the helm of the rebranded Western Province outfit.
“As a coach, you’re just a custodian – we are lucky to get the opportunity to work with these players. I’m also proud of the coaches. They deserve a lot of credit for mapping out the scenarios.
“We’ve got a long way to go, and I don’t think I’ve arrived at all. We won one game in the 79th minute!”
The Capetonians travel to Wellington next week to face a Boland Cavaliers side that beat them in the pre-season.
“We know it will be a packed stadium, and we’ve got our work cut out against them, but we’re excited,” Dawson-Squibb said.
Look at what it means! #inittogether pic.twitter.com/LfBd2EKOfP
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) July 17, 2026
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
The post New Stormers coach on highs, lows of first W appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Tom Dawson-Squibb and Jean-Luc du Plessis hailed the character of the Stormers XXIII after Friday’s result at Cape Town Stadium, but insisted the club has “a long way to go”.
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