Stormers so nearly ‘butchered’ it

Stormers coach John Dobson admitted he felt they had nearly”butchered” their Super Rugby result at the weekend, before they scored at the death to snatch a 3330 victory over the Lions at Ellis Park.

Both teams scored four tries, and though the Stormers led 26-15 after the break, the Lions threatened to take the game away from the visitors, who struggled with the altitude in the last 20 minutes before grabbing a late win.

“I said to the other coaches: ‘We blew this one and let’s pack it up’,” Dobson said, reflecting on his thoughts during the match.

“So there was agony because I feel we played at only half of our capacity, but we have shown character. That’s one thing we have done this season.”

Under pressure, the word he got from the change rooms towards the end of the game was that they had a minute-and-ahalf to play, and he hoped their forwards would pull through, as they did.

“Pieter-Steph (du Toit) is one of those calm heads and I knew we needed a big scrum and we got that,” he said.

Aware that the Lions had a new team, the Stormers wanted to play their high-tempo game but were given little chance, though they caught them towards the end.

“Elton’s (Jantjies) try was straight between Frans Malherbe and Cobus Wiese and they didn’t even lay a finger on him,” Dobson said.

“But my frustration was that being 26-15 up, we threw away quite a few opportunities and I thought we were throwing the game away.”

Dobson admitted Ellis Park was not an easy place to win and his charges didn’t convert enough chances in the first half but he was pleased with his team’s result as they extended their unbeaten run to three matches this season.