Utility forward Ben-Jason Dixon said the DHL Stormers have a “point to prove” against Munster when the teams clash in the Vodacom URC on Saturday.
Driven by the agony of last season’s Grand Final defeat at their fortress in Cape Town, the Stormers are determined to hunt down the Irish giants in this weekend’s rematch in Limerick.
“Last season we believed we could beat Munster. If we carry out what we did on the training pitch, focus on improvement and give our best – as we intend to do – I believe we can beat them,” Dixon told reporters on a teleconference call this week.
“We have a point to prove in a way. We haven’t been able to do it yet and want to show that we can.”
But, after two wins from two starts in the Republic which had them sitting atop the URC league table, John Dobson’s charges have dropped to ninth on the table after going down to Benetton in Italy in round 4 following a loss at Glasgow Warriors eight days earlier.
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In both of their tour losses the Stormers have found it tough to get their scrum going, while also battling with an inconsistent lineout.
This particularly hurt them in the loss in Treviso, where they couldn’t capitalise on a couple of late opportunities to score from lineouts and rescue a victory.
“I think we let ourselves down in many ways. One of them was our decision-making,” Dixon said.
“We didn’t take our chances when things got a little looser in the second half. All the mistakes, the penalties and the way we deviated a little from our plan have an impact on the team.”
He added: “We train well, but sometimes that doesn’t transfer to games. We want to correct this, feel comfortable and find each other on the field.
“I think as a spectator you can see that it is not yet happening as we would like. There are also many good things. You grow when you experience a bit of a slump.
“If we do the basic things right, and find and trust each other, we won’t do things that seem silly. If anything, we are now more focused.”
Photo: Carl Fourie/Gallo Images