Stormers coach John Dobson says defending champions Leinster were there for the taking in Saturday’s Vodacom URC semi-final at the Aviva Stadium. LINDIZ VAN ZILLA reports.
With just under a quarter of an hour to go, Leinster were only ahead 13-11 and the Stormers were looking to pull off a win which would have set up an all-South African final against the Vodacom Bulls in Cape Town.
But costly ill-discipline saw the Stormers cop two yellow cards and a red from referee Hollie Davidson as Leinster ran out 20-11 winners.
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“The players did really well,” Dobson said. “On 68 minutes, a lineout on their 22 and our maul, and Leinster looking physically tired.
“I thought we could see some cracks starting maybe physically in Leinster. Had we converted that 22m entry we could have won the game.
“On 68 minutes we dared to dream. So disappointed we couldn’t do that.”
Dobson said the Stormers had been baffled by a couple of the set-piece calls.
“We probably need to get better around understanding the legal requirements around set-pieces, like the first scrum penalty and a couple of others”.
On the sin binings, Dobson said: “Obviously the cards were very disappointing.”
However, he made no excuses for replacement loose forward Ruan Ackermann’s red card challenge, saying: “Shoulder to the head … no issue with that one. Ruan’s was deserved.”
He said the yellow card dished out to replacement lock Salmaan Moerat was a “little confusing”, but added that it all came about because of the pressure exerted by the home side.
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“I told the guys at half-time we won’t win this game if we don’t stay 15 men on the field, but some of those things [yellow cards], they were putting us under pressure,” he said.
“Foul play is foul play. When [Leolin] Zas does that we are under pressure there. When Salmaan is not rolling we are under pressure there.”
Dobson also rued falling behind 13-0 inside 23 minutes.
“We knew they’d get a fast start and we tried to ameliorate that as best we could.”
Dobson cited stats which showed that when Leinster win matches they score on average 9.7 points in the first 15 minutes, compared to only 4.6 points when they lose.
“So we knew the fast start was coming,” he added. “We just couldn’t control it.”
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Dobson said losing two lineouts, coupled with losing the early contestable battle and a “scrum penalty which we weren’t thrilled about” contributed to Leinster getting out of the blocks quickly.
“I think we defended fantastically,” he added. “But if you look at that game, if rugby is about a team that attacks, then Leinster thoroughly deserved to win this game.”
Photo: @LeinsterRugby/X
