'Up until minute 68, we dared to dream': Where it went wrong for Stormers

REACTION: Although it was always going to be a mammoth task, the Stormers had a sense that they could overcome Leinster during their United Rugby Championship semifinal at Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

With just under 15 minutes remaining, that belief appeared justified as Leinster held only a slender 13-11 lead in Dublin.

However, yellow cards to Salmaan Moerat and Ruan Ackermann reduced the Stormers to 13 men and ultimately ended their hopes as they slumped to a 20-11 defeat.

*READ: Ill-disciplined Stormers fall short 

Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson admitted Ackermann’s challenge on Leinster hooker Ronan Kelleher warranted punishment and said he apologised to the Irish province after the match.

Ackermann was shown a yellow card for a tucked-shoulder cleanout to Kelleher’s head, with the sanction later upgraded to red following a bunker review.

“We probably should apologise for that [Ackermann] send-off; that is what we have to get rid of in rugby,” Dobson told reporters after the match in Dublin.

“A tucked shoulder to the head, then you won’t have players jackalling at the breakdown. My only thing to Leo [Cullen, Leinster head coach] was to say sorry about that. I had no issue with that call. Up until then, we could see some cracks starting to appear physically in Leinster and that ill-discipline was costly.”

However, the yellow card to Moerat for cynical foul play left Dobson a little baffled.

“A big moment was when we got into their 22, which we didn’t do often. If we converted there, we were in a reasonably good position. We could see they looked a little bit tired. That second yellow card [to Moerat] I didn’t quite understand.”

The dismissals proved decisive in a fiercely contested encounter.

Trailing 13-8 at half-time, the Stormers were reduced to 14 men in the 47th minute when wing Leolin Zas was yellow carded for a deliberate knockdown.

Despite being a man down, the visitors gathered momentum and narrowed the deficit to just two points through a Jurie Matthee penalty.

The score remained at 13-11 until the 68th minute when Ackermann and Moerat were both sent from the field.

Leinster scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park then crossed for the decisive try from the breakdown incident that resulted in Moerat’s yellow card, effectively sealing the contest.

The match was very ill-tempered, with tensions even spilling over into a scuffle in the tunnel at half-time.

“Up until minute 68, we dared to dream,” Dobson admitted.

“We defended well. Yes, we had personnel issues, and I don’t want to make it sound like an excuse. We weren’t going to come here and out-attack Leinster; we wanted to make it a dogfight, give them set-piece pressure and defend well. I think that was working.

“The thing with Leinster is that if you give them more than 10 lineouts in your half, they get their rhythm from that, and it leads to tries. A couple of those lineouts came from our poor discipline.”

Dobson also pointed to Leinster’s fast start as a key factor after the hosts raced into a 13-0 lead inside the opening 23 minutes.

“We knew they’d get a fast start, and we tried to ameliorate that as best we could.”

The Stormers boss referenced statistics showing Leinster average 9.7 points in the first 15 minutes of matches they win, compared to 4.6 points in defeats.

“So, we knew the fast start was coming,” he added. “We just couldn’t control it.”

Despite the disappointment, Dobson said the performance reinforced his belief that the Stormers can compete with the world’s elite clubs.

“People always say you’ve never played a Leinster first team. Now we have, and I think they probably have a bit of respect for us, and I mean that genuinely.

“Deep down, we know that with a bit of work, a few things going right and a couple of players fit, we can go toe-to-toe with the best clubs in the world.

“And Leinster is among the top three or four clubs in the world.

“So, for us, it’s fantastic – although it’s miserable now.

“But maybe with four or five Guinness and a night’s sleep, we might think there’s something to us.”