Leighton Koopman
The Stormers felt the pressure and they had everything to play for this past weekend against Leinster. They didn’t have the expectancy of beating a second-string side, especially after losing last weekend, but they knew in the context of their season and play-off aspirations it was a must-win clash.
John Dobson’s troops lived up to the expectations of their fans, though, and claimed a 42-12 win to jump into fifth place on the official points table of the United Rugby Championship (URC).
The Stormers can still qualify for a home knockout match, but that is out of their hands as they need a couple of favours from other sides to get into the top four.
But a place among the top eight of the URC and a spot in next season’s Champions Cup is still in their hands. The pressure will now increase to win the two overseas matches and pull the teeth of the Lions in the final round robin game of the tournament.
The Stormers will have a week off in preparation for their next clash against the Dragons at Rodney Parade, after running in five tries to beat their Irish visitors on Saturday.
“The team responded, but you could still see we lacked a bit of confidence (after last week’s loss to the Ospreys),” Dobson said about their performance against Leinster.
“The last thing that you want as a coach is to tell the players that we can’t afford to lose or we will miss out on the Champions Cup. But it was the truth, we just didn’t go on about it too much.
“That pressure was there, but it was a compelling performance and I have to give credit to the players. There were some signs of last weekend where we gave away penalties or were too lateral on the attack. We again showed flashes of playing Stormers rugby, but we were not too fluid like back in the day.
“There were glimpses of it against Leinster again, and I felt like we had our pomp back. We won’t change how we play.”
🔥 Warrick Gelant, STOP THAT!
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) April 27, 2024
An outrageous dummy from the DHL @THESTORMERS flyer 😮💨#BKTURC | #URC | #RaceToTheEight | #STOvLEI pic.twitter.com/5mGVjOiODd
And 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 is how we stand after 1️⃣5️⃣ rounds...
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) April 28, 2024
Who you backing to take the 👑?#BKTURC #URC | #RaceToTheEight pic.twitter.com/cqx8IO105O
Bringing back the big carriers worked for the Stormers. Captain Salmaan Moerat, loose forwards Ben-Jason Dixon and Evan Roos, hooker Joseph Dweba and lock Ruben van Heerden took the ball into contact excellently.
They, along with the rest of the forwards, were also solid on defence and kept the Irish side scoreless for about 50 minutes of the clash before they could hit back with two quick-fire tries.
Every bit of momentum started with the first scrum of the match, where the home side’s pack won a penalty after prop Neethling Fouche, alongside Dweba and 150-cap hero Brok Harris, dominated. They continued to overpower their opponents in the scrum throughout the match.
The confidence they will have gained will be vital ahead of the trip to Wales and Ireland, where two tricky clashes could end up determining where the Stormers finish on the log.