Stormers satisfied as they ’save their tears for the pillow’

The Stormers were obviously devastated after their United Rugby Championship (URC) final loss to Munster at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday night, but satisfied with a strong season overall as coach John Dobson said his players should ‘save their tears for the pillow.’

Munster were the better team on the night, claiming a deserved 19-14 win to break the hearts of over 56000 raucous supporters that broke the record for a turnout at a URC match.

ALSO READ: John Dobson concedes ‘Munster thoroughly deserved URC final win’

But despite the disappointment of falling at the final hurdle, the Stormers can be satisfied with a second solid season that proved their triumph in their inaugural campaign was no fluke.

“It’s hard for us now. It’s very, very tough. We really wanted to win this cup, but we’ve got to try and be disciplined and look at the bigger picture. I’ve been telling them (players) to try save the tears for the pillow later, because we did something special,” said Dobson after the match.

“We know there was an error or two in the final five or six minutes, but we’re not going to hang anyone out for that. That’s just not our style.”

Checked all goals

Dobson admitted ahead of the final that the Stormers had already checked off all of their goals for the season, but that they were still desperate to retain their title, and after the match reiterated that his side had achieved everything they wanted to over the campaign.

“We wanted to increase our depth, prove we belong at the top table of European rugby and increase a sense of belonging for everybody in the group. It was just about making Cape Town smile,” said Dobson. 

“It’s a weird one because we’ve ticked off our goals, yet we’re here feeling miserable. Some guys are pretty broken, but we’ll go have a drink or a cool drink together and reflect on a very good season.

“We’ve taken a massive step forward this season. We have more depth, substance and understanding.”

The Stormers players won’t have too much time to dwell on the loss as a large number of them have been included in the Springbok training camp starting on Monday, while a few other players will shift into the Western Province Currie Cup squad that is in the business end of their season.