John Dobson cut a figure of mixed emotions after the DHL Stormers side missing 13 regulars so nearly upset a powerhouse Leicester Tigers team at Welford Road.
Despite fielding a mix of veterans and youth making their tournament debuts, the Stormers found themselves five points away from an unlikely victory with three minutes to play against a Leicester side chock full of internationals.
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The Stormers were 30-26 down and received a penalty for offsides in Leicester’s 22-metre area. Facing a roll of the dice whichever way they went, the visitors opted for a scrum, which had proved relatively solid where their lineout was starting to creak.
However, Leicester won just their second scrum penalty of the match, worked their way upfield and scored a decisive try in the final play which secured the hosts all five points and cruelly denied the Stormers a losing bonus point.
Speaking after the match, Dobson supported the decision to go for a scrum, as the Stormers were relying on rookie lock Dylan Sjoblom to make the lineout calls in front of a noisy Welford Road crowd.
However, having targeted a losing bonus point going into the match, Dobson was bitterly disappointed not to have ticked that box.
“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.”
At the same time, there were plenty of positives for Dobson to take from the match. Many of the Stormers youngsters, including debutant flyhalf Jurie Matthee, lock Connor Evans and No 8 Keke Morabe shone against international opposition.
Matthee kicked 16 of the 26 points, while Morabe scored a try and Evans made 13 tackles in a bright view into the Stormers’ future.
“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.”
Photo: Photo: www.inpho.ie