The DHL Stormers are celebrating the prospect of a home semi-final, but the resilience of Connacht is a sobering threat that John Dobson takes very seriously.
The defending champions built on a 17-7 half-time lead to claim a 33-21 victory over their rivals, taking the winning streak in the north-south derby to six in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship.
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Speaking after the match, Stormers coach Dobson described the win as one of the best his side has had since he took charge in 2019.
“In the context of our rivalry against the Bulls for the last while, it was one of our best,” said Dobson. “It was probably a bit better than the win in December (37-27). I was very pleased.
“We possibly could have got a bit more reward in the first half. We were irritated with ourselves and spoke about it at half time because they scored a try without making a pass, only because of our own poor discipline and a good maul by them. That’s always the danger with the Bulls.
“We weren’t at our best in the second half and I thought the Bulls played really well and showed character. We didn’t implement our plan fully. We wanted to make the Bulls play catch up and we got that, but we didn’t execute properly.”
Dobson is delighted that, after a record 46 800 fans flocked to Cape Town Stadium to watch the quarter-final, the Stormers will be able to host a semi-final this week. This is a boon in the context of the Stormers missing out on a home quarter-final in the Champions Cup when Exeter Chiefs progressed through the round of 16 on a technicality.
“We had a bit of a tough one with the Montpellier vs Exeter game and not being able to host a European quarter-final here,” said Dobson. “The Ulster result in the last weekend knocked us down to third on points difference. So it’s nice to have one in your favour.
“To be able to do this again next week is so special for us.”
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However, Dobson is expecting no favours from giant-slaying Ireland minnows Connacht, who stunned Ulster on Friday to present the Stormers with the opportunity to host the semi-final.
“We were chatting about Connacht a couple of weeks ago and it’s similar to what we say about ourselves. As [Seabelo] Senatla says, they’ve got ‘dawg’ in them and they have.
“They won seven in a row. There is something there that is worrying: the way they fight, and their attack shape is really good. Connacht have a great story, from a windy greyhound track in the far west with the smallest budget [in Ireland]. They don’t go away. They will be tougher than we think.”
The last time the Stormers faced Connacht was in the opening round of their campaign last September in Stellenbosch, where the hosts needed a late try to secure a bonus-point victory after the Irish side was reduced to 14 men when centre Bundee Aki was red-carded.
Dobson feels that after the penultimate-round loss to Munster in Cape Town and an indifferent final-round performance against Benetton, the Stormers have found their groove again and are confident going into the semi-finals.
“There was a fear two weeks ago that we were out of synch and out of flow. The momentum was all with the Bulls. It all seemed to settle this week. We were really, really confident.
“When you play in the semi-final, no matter who you play, it’s going to be a very good team. They are tough opposition, but we can feel confident. With respect to Connacht, a team that has crossed the equator is useful opposition, compared to a team that has travelled from upcountry.
“We prepared and trained really well this week. This felt like the most pressure we have had so far. It feels like now we can get back into the groove.
“If we as defending champions had slipped up in the quarter-finals, it would have undone a lot of the good work we had done over the last year. Now I feel the pressure is off, so let’s see what happens.”
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