'Quick fixes' will get Stormers back on track says Dobson
REACTION: Although Stormers director of rugby John Dobson was a frustrated figure after his side’s draw against Ulster, he is confident a couple of ‘quick fixes’ will have them bounce back.
The Stormers headed into their United Rugby Championship Round 17 clash at the top of the league table.
However, they relinquished that position following a dramatic 38-38 draw with Ulster on Friday night.
The Cape side secured three log points to move to 59, while Glasgow Warriors climbed to the summit on 60 points after their 40-17 victory over Cardiff.
*READ: Ulster v Stormers match report
The Stormers salvaged a dramatic draw courtesy of a last-minute penalty try after referee Andrea Piardi ruled that Ulster scrumhalf Nathan Doak had made shoulder-to-head contact with Leolin Zas as the winger dived for the corner.
“It’s probably a mixture of frustration that we didn’t get five points, because I thought at times our dominance was pretty imperious,” Dobson said after the match on Friday.
“But in the end, we’re probably lucky to get the three.”
Dobson admitted his side created enough opportunities to win the match outright and pointed to four costly moments that ultimately hurt the Stormers.
“There were four clear moments,” the coach said.
“The two pick-and-go penalties we conceded – one of which is a 14-point swing – then Evan [Roos’] knock-on on the tryline from a pick-and-go, and when Imad Khan knocked on as he was played.
“Those are four clear tries, and that’s without the general ‘what-ifs’. So that was frustrating – some of our mistakes.”
Dobson lamented his side’s aerial contest in difficult conditions.
“I think the most disappointing thing, in very tough conditions with a swirling wind, was the contestable kicking game,” said Dobson.
“We’ve worked so hard to become good at that, and we lost one or two of those contests. Ulster were slightly better than us, which has not been the case in a while.
“But again, it wasn’t easy conditions.”
The Stormers mentor was particularly unhappy with his team’s discipline late in the match.
“Very disappointed with the discipline. We got offside for the last few penalties, the soft penalties, and that put us under a bit of pressure.
“I think, to improve for Cardiff, our discipline is key.
“Some of our set-ups around the contestable kicking can be easily improved – those quick fixes.”
Despite the frustrations, the Stormers coach praised his team’s ability to adapt when their traditional strengths up front failed to deliver rewards.
“We’re a team that has relied a lot on scrum and maul penalties to get territory and attack,” Dobson said.
“But we didn’t get that reward. We had one scrum on our ball, which is normally where you get penalties, and they stopped our mauls very effectively.
“So, we had to find another way, and I thought that was very pleasing – that we could still score tries and get on top of them without that scrum and maul dominance.
“It’s definitely a game we feel we should have won, without taking anything away from Ulster.”
Having already booked a home quarterfinal, the Stormers will now head for Wales to take on play-off chasing Cardiff at the Arms Park next Friday night.
