John Dobson issues an apology to the Stormers faithful after a third consecutive derby loss, this time at the hands of the Lions. Photo: Backpahepix
Image: Backpagepix
Stormers coach John Dobson did not hide his frustration after Saturday’s United Rugby Championship defeat to the Lions at Ellis Park, conceding that his side “didn’t deserve to win” after a costly, error-riddled display.
The loss marked a third successive derby setback for the Cape outfit, after back-to-back losses tio the Sharks, a run Dobson described as “helluva disappointing”.
“It was a very disappointing result for us and, in lots of ways, the performance as well,” he said. “Some of the stuff we looked at from Durban we got right, but we just made far too many errors.”
The Stormers’ biggest undoing was their inability to look after the ball. Dobson revealed that in the first half alone they turned over possession nine times in contact and handling situations.
“We kept doing that, unfortunately,” he admitted.
Even with the Lions reduced to 14 men and then 13 at one stage, the Stormers failed to capitalise. Dobson felt his team had ample time and opportunity to seize control, but a lack of composure proved fatal.
“That just shows we didn’t show any form of composure, even in the dying minutes,” he said, pointing to two late passes that drifted into touch and three separate occasions where his side were held up over the try line.
While he hinted that one or two decisions might have been interpreted differently, Dobson refused to hide behind officiating calls.
“The truth is we didn’t deserve to win it.”
There were, however, small positives. Dobson noted encouraging signs in the scrum and an improvement in discipline, although he conceded their maul defence would need urgent work.
Despite the slump, he insisted the Stormers remain “a reasonable team” capable of turning things around. But he acknowledged the supporters’ frustration.
“We would like to apologise to our supporters for this run of results. We are very disappointed not to come away with a few points from that game.”
* Rowan Callaghan is Independent Media's general sports reporter, with a passion for the English Premier League. He is also a senior contributor for our YouTube channel The Clutch