'Absolutely superb': Dobson opens up on 'brave' plan against Harlequins
SPOTLIGHT: Stormers head coach John Dobson praised his team for sticking to the plan in their Champions Cup Round of 16 clash against the Harlequins in Cape Town on Saturday.
The home side recorded a 32-28 victory to book a spot in the last eight.
The scoreline would suggest that it was a close game, but the Stormers had a 25-point lead before the visitors scored three late tries.
“It was absolutely superb. Everything went according to our plans,” Dobson told reporters after the match.
“A lot of people will tell us about the last six minutes, but the Harlequins came back from 30 points down to beat Bristol and they beat a lot of teams like that. The game was well won by then.
“They are a really good team. Our plan was to defend really well, which we did.
“Our plan to put [flyhalf] Marcus Smith under pressure worked. I thought we slowed the ball down nicely and Deon [Fourie] and Kitsie [captain Steven Kitshoff] were both outstanding.
“We made a couple of mistakes in the back five minutes of the first half. We gave away some penalties and lost a set-piece or two and it maybe got a bit loose in the middle of the second half.
“To lead 32-7 around 72 minutes is pretty special in our first Champions Cup knockout game against a team with that quality.”
We still can’t believe this Damian Willemse try 🤯
Watch full highlights from @THESTORMERS‘ win over Harlequins, and all the other #HeinekenChampionsCup Round of 16 fixtures, on YouTube now 📺
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) April 2, 2023
Dobson was pleased with the way his team kept some of the Harlequins’ big names in check at the Cape Town Stadium.
“We didn’t let Marcus Smith get on the front foot too much.
“Danny Care was excellent. Andre [Esterhuizen] got some runs in towards the end.
“We won the game, so we probably won those key things that we focussed on.
“I want to give a lot of credit to Harlequins for the style of rugby they play.”
5️⃣5️⃣ SECONDS 🤯🤯🤯
The @THESTORMERS pick up where the @SharksRugby left off as @Deonf scores the opening try in the opening minute 👏#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/WTZeKsOOiP
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) April 1, 2023
‘A brave team’
Despite it being a knockout game, the Stormers never shied away from the adventurous stuff and an example of that was Deon Fourie’s first try that came within 55 seconds.
“We are who we are and how we play was actually perfect for this game. which consists of massive character on defence.
“We can’t say to Manie Libbok that he is playing in a Champions Cup knockout game and he has now got to play the territory.
“I think that first try that Deon scored is the sort of rugby we want to play.
“It is underpinned by a massive work rate on defence and a good set-piece.
“We are going to be a brave team and that is how we wanted to play this game.”
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