Stormers count the cost of French excursion
REACTION: Some serious introspection, several injury concerns, the high error count and ongoing second-half collapses are among the major concerns for the Stormers when they arrive back from their French expedition on Monday.
The Stormers on Tuesday start their build-up for the Round Two European Cup encounter with London Irish.
French giants Clermont recovered from an 11-point half-time deficit to beat Champions Cup newcomers, the Stormers, by 24-14 at Stade Marcel-Michelin in France at the weekend.
Stormers coach John Dobson, despite the obvious disappointment with his team’s poor performance, said having lost centre Dan du Plessis (with illness before the game), as well as flank Ernst van Rhyn and lock Gary Porter (in the first half) to injuries was a “big disruption” to the visitors.
Porter went to the hospital with a rib fracture and is unlikely to feature in this week’s Round Two encounter with London Irish at the Cape Town Stadium.
Van Rhyn injured his Medial Collateral knee Ligament and is set to be sidelined for a few weeks.
Du Plessis’s injury meant Springbok Damian Willemse, who was named at fullback, had to move to inside centre – with Clayton Blommetjies starting at fullback.
“It was not a great day at the office,” Dobson said of the team’s casualty list.
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The coach said, despite the loss, they showed they do belong at the top table of European rugby.
“This is the epicentre of French rugby with an amazing record,” he said of the two-time French champions, three-time European Cup runners-up and a team that won the Challenge Cup three times.
“We are disappointed that we did not get the victory, because we felt we could win.
“We are at the top table, where we want to be.
“We know what it takes to win in Europe and theoretically the next three [pool games] should not be as hard as what we have been through.”
Also of major concern is the ‘implosion’ in the second half, leading 14-3 but failing to score after the break – the third consecutive week that the Stormers suffered a slump after the break.
The high error count weighed heavily against the Cape Town-based franchise.
Captain Steven Kitshoff admitted the ‘clever change in tactics’ by the French team after the break also contributed to the Clermont win.
“We will go back, have a hard look at ourselves and come up with some proper solutions as we start preparing for [the Round Two encounter] with London Irish,” Kitshoff said.
Dobson also touched on Clermont’s clever change of tactics to breach the normally stout Stormers defence with clever kicking, instead of just running into a brick wall.
Despite the nature of the loss, Dobson praised the “bravery” of players like Deon Fourie, Gary Porter (playing with a rib injury) and Salmaan Moerat.
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