Dobson delighted as Stormers season gains momentum

Stormers coach John Dobson believes his side’s season has truly begun after a positive run of games culminated with an impressive 26-20 United Rugby Championship (URC) win over their fierce rivals the Bulls in the North-South derby at the weekend.

It was an entertaining match with both teams going all out, but the Stormers produced one of their best performances of the season so far to clinch their seventh straight win over the Highveld challengers.

It seems to indicate that the Stormers have finally turned the corner, after their disappointing European tour that saw them lose four straight games which left them languishing in the lower reaches of the URC table.

Since then they have beaten Zebre, seen a second-string side just go down to Leicester Tigers in England, beaten Champions Cup defending champs La Rochelle, and now triumphed over the Bulls to build some good momentum.

‘Very proud’

“I am very proud. It (the game) was tense. We had three disallowed tries, so I thought we had enough chances to go clear of them, so that was disappointing. But this Bulls team just keeps fighting,” Dobson said after the match.

“The experience we got against Leicester, even though we lost, and wins over La Rochelle and the Bulls, those are high quality teams, so I feel like we are back. We have some good players coming back from injury. So I think this is the start of our season now.

“This was a high level and great game of rugby. The defence, teams playing with transition, guys not scared when there is a turnover move in their 22m. I think it was a good reflection for South African rugby.”

Crucial victory

The positive result was vitally important for the Stormers who were down in 10^th place on the URC log before the game, but crucially moved up into the top half of the table in eighth by the end of the night, while the Bulls were still well placed in fourth despite the loss.

“The really important thing for us was in terms of the URC table. If the Bulls had won, we would have struggled to claw back. We want to be in contention for home playoffs and you can’t afford to lose a home game, much like in Europe,” explained Dobson.

“If we are to compete with the Bulls for a home playoff or the SA Shield, these games are eight or 10 point swings.”