Stormers coach: 'We did not do justice to what must be a pillar'
SPOTLIGHT: Stormers head coach John Dobson is hoping to find solutions to a few problems during his team’s three-match United Rugby Championship tour.
The Capetonians got a maximum of 10 points from their opening two home matches of the season against Connacht and Edinburgh.
They will now face Zebre Parma, Ospreys and Cardiff on consecutive weekends in October.
Dobson knows that if his team are to be successful on tour then they will have to work on their discipline.
They conceded 15 penalties in their opener against Connacht and another 12 in last weekend’s win over Edinburgh.
The Cape franchise has already notched up three yellow cards and one red card this season.
“The devil is always in the detail, so it isn’t as simple as saying ‘job done’ based on the league points,” Dobson wrote in his weekly column on the Stormers’ website.
“We know our discipline should be a strength and in those first two matches we did not do justice to what must be a pillar in our filter as a team.
“I will keep on highlighting discipline until I can speak about it as a positive and it is something that is consistently being addressed within the group.
“It is a strength within those in the squad that they feel the same way, and while we all celebrate the good things and the wins, the positive is that no one looks the other way when it comes to confronting the detail in areas that aren’t functioning.
“I guess I can’t avoid the cliché, so it is for you to know that we know there is lots of work to be done.”
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Rotation policy
With it being a long season, Dobson will be rotating his players on tour, which could mean some interesting combinations.
“We saw the opening two matches in Stellenbosch and at the DHL Stadium as a campaign within a campaign,” said the Stormers coach.
“We knew we would be fielding a very young side in the first game and then integrating into the playing group the return of the current Springboks.
“It was a balancing act and I thought we exceeded expectations in how we got it right and the results that we got. But all we have done is get the start we wanted and now we have to build on that in Italy and Wales.
“Given that this is a tour, we will make use of the squad numbers and there will be an element of player rotation. Please don’t interpret this as players getting axed or promoted or starting or finishing. This league is not one in which success is determined because of a starting XV. The depth of the squad makes for the success of a squad.
“There is respect for every opponent, but mostly we look inwards, and the biggest respect is that which we show each other.”
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