Stormers reflect on the one that got away
REACTION: Stormers coach John Dobson and captain Ruhan Nel reflected on their historic first clash against the All Blacks in the Greatest Rivalry series opener at DHL Stadium.
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The Stormers started the match off slowly, making several defensive errors, but responded strongly, going down 7-14 at halftime.
Dobson’s team looked set to record a historic result, being level 14-14 up until the 65th minute when tries by Rieko Ioane, Lee Roy Carter and Josh Moorby effectively took the game away from the hosts.
Dobson admitted that the Stormers ‘dared to dream’ of an upset result but lamented the opportunities his team squandered during the match.
“We dared to dream for a while, there were a couple of big moments,” Dobson said.
“That Seabelo [Senatla] linebreak where he headed towards the posts, and it ended up being a penalty against us.
“The maul on the far side [where the ball got lost]…those were big moments…at 14 all, defensively I thought we were on top of them.
“The one thing is they pass so well. That style of rugby is magnificent. It’s unfortunate we’ve got to balance the two [styles].
“We’ve seen it to the extremes in South Africa and their style of play and credit to their style skill level, it’s incredible.
“But we did have them shut down and boxed in, and that’s when I thought we really had a chance.
“That one scrum call that went against us and ended up in a try for New Zealand [and momentum changed].”
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Nel echoed Dobson’s sentiments on the missed opportunities the Stormers squandered.
“It’s a difficult one; I think we were 14-all at 65 minutes in their red zone before we lost it forward with a pick and go and ended up in our own 22-metre area and conceded a try.
“If we converted that opportunity and go up 21-14, and defensively you’re feeling strong and that they might be chasing the game and they must try and do one or two things more, and we could back our defensive system.
“We dared to dream at one point, but in all honesty, no one gave us a chance before this, and the talk was that we’re going to get slaughtered and all of that.
“There was no point where we said it’s true. We wanted to go out and compete there.
“I’m not surprised about the result; I mean it’s the All Blacks, and it was an incredible moment for us, and it would’ve been an incredible feat if we pulled it off.
“But the competitor in me is saying to myself ‘flip, if we ended up a couple of moments better, we could’ve been singing a completely different song’, but I guess that’s sport.
He added: “I do feel there was an opportunity of two for us out there and if we handled it a little bit better we would’ve sung a different song,” Nel concluded.
