Dobson: Lions play the best style
The Lions claimed an emphatic 62-32 victory to put a massive dent in WP's chances of securing a home semifinal, as they slipped further behind the Blue Bulls.
"We knew they would attack like they did but their intensity was just too much for us. They ran hard and direct in the first half. We were beaten by a really good Lions attack.
"This Lions team has been building for about two, three years. They play the best style of rugby in South Africa – it's ball in hand, it's hard and fast and we just couldn't live with it," Dobson told wprugby.com.
WP managed to bag a four-try bonus point in a losing effort though, and came close to staging a dramatic comeback. However, they conceded two tries in the final 12 minutes of the match to see their chances go up in smoke.
"I was pleased with our intent to attack but we made too many errors with ball in hand to sustain any form of pressure on them. Against a team like this, to lose so much ball and kick the ball directly out, you are going to struggle.
"I thought the critical moment of the game was just after half-time. If we had scored, it would've been a nine-point game, instead we got turned over, conceded a penalty and try to them," he added.
The unbeaten Lions (in first place), Bulls (second) and WP (third) are all assured of their semifinal places a week before the conclusion of the league phase of the competition, with a Province-Bulls semifinal on the cards later this month.
"It looks like we'll be up against the Bulls at Loftus [in the semifinals]. We like playing up there and if we did come back here – and that's a big if based on this game – I think we would've learnt a helluva lot about our game and theirs.
"We know we're in the semifinals, it's just a matter of where we play, but we need to pick ourselves up from this and fast," he stated.
Loose forward Chris Cloete left the field early with a calf muscle injury and could be in doubt for next week, but – in some good news – captain Juan de Jongh got through his comeback game unscathed.
"It was always the plan to play Juan for 30-40 minutes and he held up well. Realistically, the game was over by half-time, so we had to be conservative with him," Dobson said.
