Stormers boss ‘thrilled’ to break European hoodoo in tough conditions

Stormers head coach John Dobson was delighted that his team managed to end their losing streak in Europe following a hard-fought bonus-point 24-20 win over Stade Francais in Paris on Saturday.

The men from the Cape came into the Investec Champions Cup clash without any victories in Europe this season and having last notched a win there more than a year ago.

Tough day at the office

It was a tough day at the office for Dobson and his charges in freezing conditions and the Stormers boss is delighted that they managed to come away with the victory, which secured them a home play-off in the Champions Cup’s round-of-16.

“We’re thrilled with the result,” he told Sport24. “It was incredibly tough conditions, we’d just never seen anything like it.

“You could see the field during the game visibly freezing, balls were dropped and players were getting cold. We’d never played in conditions like that and to qualify for a home play-off from the so-called pool of death is extraordinary, so we’re very happy.”

There were several momentum shifts during the match and although Stade Francais held the lead for most of the contest, the Stormers finished stronger and clinched the result when Springboks fly-half Manie Libbok scored the game-winning try in the latter stages.

“I can’t understate my praise for the team for fighting in those conditions against a pretty motivated Stade team,” said Dobson. “I can’t tell you enough about the conditions, [but] it’s no excuse because we won the game.

“You saw the ball [full-back] Warrick [Gelant] dropped, he couldn’t straighten up on the icy field and his hands froze and he dropped the ball. It’s an incredible achievement in those conditions to get five points.”

The Stormers were not firing on all cylinders for most of the match as they committed a plethora of unforced errors. Like most of their previous Champions Cup games, their breakdown work left a lot to be desired.

Captain and openside flanker Deon Fourie admitted to being surprised by the intensity with which their opponents operated at ruck-time.

“I think the guys playing against us were the fringe players so they wanted to prove a point,” he said. “They put us under immense pressure at ruck time as well, I think we were a bit flabbergasted from the intensity in the first few minutes.”

Accepts responsibility and wants improvement

Dobson took full responsibility for his side’s struggles in the rucks and called for improvement in that department.

“We got counter-rucked three times in the first half (which included for the first try) and once in the second half,” he added. “I think our mindset was wrong, it’s my responsibility and it’s the poorest part of our game at the moment, it’s something we have to get better at.

“They didn’t jackal us, they just counter rucked us but it’s three Champions Cup games that the breakdown hasn’t been good.”

READ MORE: Springbok playmaker’s late try seals Stormers’ Champions Cup play-off berth