‘The hope killed us’ – Stormers gutted to leave Welford Road with nothing

Stormers head coach John Dobson was hugely disappointed to leave Welford Road with no points as they went down 35-26 against Leicester Tigers in the Champions Cup on Sunday.

Dobson had boldly left most of his first-choice team in Cape Town to prepare for La Rochelle this weekend and fielded an inexperienced side against the Premiership outfit.

The decision looked to be bearing fruit with Dobson’s men managing to take a lead into the break on the back of some brilliant scrummaging and pin-point goal-kicking from debutant fly-half Jurie Matthee, who also bagged a drop-goal in the second period.

The Handre Pollard effect

Ultimately, it was one of their own who drove the nail into the coffin as Western Cape-born Handre Pollard notched up 20 points, including a second-half try, which helped take Leicester more than seven points ahead of the Stormers, leaving the Capetonians with nothing to show for their valiant effort.

Dobson admits the loss is hard to take particularly considering how well-placed the young team was to come away with some points and possibly a win.

“Unfortunately, the hope killed us,” said Dobson. “At half time we started to believe, that scrum where we made the mistake was us going for the win.

“To have nothing out of it is really disappointing. It still feels like it’ll take a while to process the disappointment of losing that point.

“The first goal was to play with pride and show that we could compete at this level with that team, we ticked that box wholeheartedly, but we were disappointed not to get the log point.

“How the game ended was very disappointing, we thought we had done enough to certainly get that point or even burgle a win.

“At this moment it still feels like a kick in the guts.”

Future looks bright

Despite losing, it was a superb performance from a side that appeared far more mature than their experience suggested, with Matthee and number eight Keke Morabe looking like real finds for the Cape side.

Young second-row Connor Evans looks to be settling in well whilst new signing Hendre Stassen showcased how much of an engine he has.

“There were some performances and so many positives in terms of learning to play in these conditions, that was a far higher level than the URC games we lost on tour,” Dobson said.

“Understanding the conditions, the kicking game was a major positive. The performances of Connor Evans, Jurie Matthee and Keke Morabe, the next-generation Stormers, were pretty cool.

“If you think of the fact that we’ve got 18, 19 players in Cape Town, to see Connor Evans and Hendre Stassen it really augurs well for the future. The positives by far outweigh the negatives today.”

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