The DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls learned invaluable lessons despite both teams beaten convincingly in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship on Friday, according to MARK KEOHANE.
The Stormers endured a night to forget in Belfast as the defending URC champions suffered a heavy defeat to Ulster during which they lost five players to injury.
In his TimesLIVE column, Keohane argues that the loss was not totally unexpected for a below-strength Stormers, and that the Capetonians will be better off for the experience.
“The result emphasised the difference in quality between the best 15 and the next best and the challenge for coach John Dobson in the next two seasons is to narrow the gap in quality when he ranks his players one, two and three in the pecking order,” he writes.
“The Stormers, at their home stadium, have won 20 in succession. Pre Friday’s mauling, they were second in the URC standings and had ensured a historic first-ever last 16 home play-off against Harlequins in the Champions Cup.
“The first team will play in that match and everything will be different in weather, location and buzz. This is the reality of the new world of rugby for South Africa’s professional franchises. Equally for the teams up north.
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“One week the match will be played in 30 degrees sunshine and the next it could be two degrees.”
In Wales, the Bulls showed plenty of guts to cut down a 20-point deficit but chose not to go for a late three-pointer, and had to settle for a brave defeat against Scarlets.
Keohane argues that not going for the posts was “madness” and in the context of the match, a “lesson not learned” by the men from Pretoria.
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He writes: “The Belfast beating was no surprise, but I didn’t expect a decent Bulls team to lose the way they did against the Scarlets in Wales, and I didn’t expect such brainless game management in the final 10 minutes, when they fought back from a 27-7 deficit to trail 30-28. Typically, they kicked to the corner and stuffed up the resulting maul.
“It was a lesson: Take your points and ensure the lead and back yourself to exit effectively and put the heat back on a team that would be mentally shot after blowing a 20-point lead.
“The mindset to go for a possible five and not invest in the value of a probable three points was madness in the context of the game and the time on the clock.”
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