‘We want to fire shots,’ says Stormers’ Dobson ahead of Ospreys match

The Stormers are planning to be more expansive in their United Rugby Championship (URC) match against Ospreys at Swansea Park on Friday night (kick-off 8:35pm), after playing a structured game plan against Zebre last weekend.

Despite not being as attacking as they are when playing at home, the Stormers still managed to run in four tries in Parma, but coach John Dobson is keen to see a bit more on attack in Wales.

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“We want to do that (play attacking rugby) every game. But there are some things which we want to improve on, like our discipline, which was much better last week. We went with a plan (against Zebre) that wasn’t very seductive to the rugby public, trying to focus on defence,” explained Dobson.

“It was probably our best performance (this season) in terms of us sticking to our plan. So this week we would like to fire more shots on attack. We would like to score some of those tries that we did (earlier in the season) and play the rugby we are known for in this competition.

“In terms of building blocks last week’s game was great for us, and we are now looking to build on that by being a bit more expansive this week.”

Tricky Ospreys

The Stormers will however need to be on their toes against a tricky Ospreys side featuring a number of Welsh internationals and British and Irish Lions stars, who will be eager to make a mark after a difficult start ti the season for them, including a big loss against Ulster last time out.

“They have a few British and Irish Lions returning for them. If you look at the team they chose for Ulster they are probably targeting this game for a win. So we are expecting a tough game,” said Dobson.

“Ospreys on paper have been a really strong team for a while now. They are full of Welsh internationals, although they are missing a couple for this game. They have had inconsistent results, but they are really good at home.

“I think the challenges will be that they are one of the top teams in the league in terms of discipline and ball retention. So we are expecting a contestable kicking game which we have prepared for and we are expecting a challenge at the breakdown.

“So it is a really good all-round team. A bit inconsistent away from home, but with them on their home ground it is going to be a tough game.