Stormers boss: 'There are some broke bookmakers'
SPOTLIGHT: Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson could not have asked for a better start to the season after his side outplayed Leinster in Round One of the United Rugby Championship.
In the build-up to the match, in various media interviews, Dobson made it clear how anxious and nervous he was to go up against the defending champions, but a 35-0 win was beyond his wildest expectations.
The Capetonians outplayed the Irish giants in all areas of the game on Friday. Their dominant scrum was one of the biggest highlights, considering they had several props out injured.
“I didn’t expect that,” Dobson told reporters after the match.
“There are some broke bookmakers,” he jokingly added.
“They [Leinster] put a really strong team out. We all know there were 14 British and Irish Lions missing and RG Snyman, but they are probably the most exceptional team in the world.
“That’s the model – to be able to have two teams.
“Factually, there were 270 international caps out there, and we knew this was going to be a very tough game.
“We saw their game against Cardiff, which was a friendly, and then they came to us, and maybe they had to find their feet and see where they are.
“But we were absolutely no different. I can name guys that were on 20 to 30 minutes [of game time ahead of the opener].
“In the Sharks game [pre-season friendly], we made 13 changes at half-time. It was unrecognisable, so we didn’t know where we were either, but the short answer is that I didn’t expect that [result].
“I do, of course, have some latitude for Leinster. They are not going to be judged on game one.”
For all their dominance, the Stormers were only 6-0 up at half-time. However, the pressure they put on Leinster eventually led to them running away with the game in the second half, with wing Seabelo Senatla producing a man-of-the-match performance.
The forwards certainly laid the platform, and they absolutely destroyed the visitors at scrum time.
“The scrum culture is so important. This time last year, we had guys like Steven Kitshoff and Frans Malherbe, and now we have Olly Reid, Zach Porthen and Vernon Matongo,” said Dobson.
“The culture of scrumming we are doing is remarkable, and we played without Tuks [Ntuthuko Mchunu], Ali [Vermaak], Sazi [Sandi] and without Franna [Malherbe].
“Leinster had 13 internationals and we were four internationals with 13 [Test] caps.
“It’s remarkable that we got that sort of depth in those youngsters.”
The Stormers will face the Ospreys in Round Two in Cape Town on Friday.
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