AUDIO: Dobson left frustrated with Champions Cup exit
REACTION: The Stormers saw their Champions Cup campaign come to a heartbreaking end this weekend, falling 27-28 to RC Toulon in a dramatic clash at Stade Mayol.
For Director of Rugby John Dobson, the defeat was as painful as it was frustrating – a match that slipped away despite a performance full of grit and resilience.
Dobson felt the Stormers’ performance deserved better than the result suggested, pointing to several controversial refereeing decisions by English referee Christophe Ridley that didn’t go their way.
He questioned the final decision not to award a try, where Toulon flank Charles Ollivon, who was on the ground at the time and appeared to be in an offside position, stopped lock Adré Smith’s attempt to score.
“We had to adapt to some EPCR interpretations. In the URC [United Rugby Championship] – which is obviously our day job – when you run into the maul like that, and it gets brought down, it’s clearly a penalty try. But not in the EPCR.
“Obviously a bit frustrated at the end there. Once it goes to the TMO, then maybe you can’t see the grounding, and the on-field decision for some reason is ‘no try’.
“What’s frustrating for us is that [Toulon flank Charles] Ollivon is clearly inside the field of play on the ground. I believe Adré [Smith] got it down, but I don’t understand why it wasn’t awarded.
“A very frustrating way for the game to end.”
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The Cape Town franchise headed into the fixture with confidence, but was quickly faced with a rude awakening as Toulon produced a stern challenge, scoring their first try in the eighth minute and taking a 14-13 lead at the break.
The Stormers fought back to take a 20-14 lead in the second half, but Toulon went on to score two tries, making it 28-20 with 15 minutes to spare.
The Stormers showed passion and clawed their way back when Imad Khan scored the team’s third try, narrowing the deficit to one point.
“I was very impressed with the fight,” Dobson said following the match.
“We needed to score twice with eight minutes to go, and we should never have been in that position. We have to look at ourselves.
“After a ball transition, we got stripped and then gave away a stupid penalty that led to one of their tries.
“I think we could have been more accurate around some of our spacing on defence, but we defended really well with heart and physicality. And you can see that Toulon was visibly tiring after some great defensive sets.
“A very big moment would have been after we scored to go 20-14; we really messed up that exit and ended up with them scoring a try, which is one of the worst things in rugby.”
While the result stings, Dobson believes his side can take pride in their performance on foreign soil.
“There’s no doubt that the Stormers travel well, fight well, have a good plan and can compete in the cathedrals of rugby.”
Attention now shifts back to the URC, where the Stormers will look to regroup and finish the season strongly.
Upcoming fixtures include home clashes against Connacht and Glasgow Warriors, followed by challenging away trips to Ulster and Cardiff.
“Now we have to focus on the URC. We would love to have won this game, but we weren’t quite good enough, maybe in a couple of areas.
“We didn’t get the scrum dominance we’re used to, and it just seemed to be a bit more of a mess. But it was a great team, great atmosphere, great experience.
“Our players mustn’t lose heart. This was a good performance.”
