‘We cannot wait to set the record straight,’ says Stormers boss Dobson
· Citizen
Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson is thrilled to have an immediate chance to set things right, when his team welcome Cardiff Rugby to Cape Town for their United Rugby Championship (URC) quarterfinal next weekend.
The Stormers produced a disappointing performance to close out their URC pool campaign with a 22-16 loss against Cardiff at Arms Park in Wales over the past weekend, which also saw them slip down to third on the log, meaning they will likely have to travel if they reach the semifinals.
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Despite that disappointment, Dobson said his team were happy to be able to play in front of their home fans, and that they would be looking to rectify what went wrong over the past few pool stage games, that saw them win just once, draw once and lose twice to drop from the top of the log.
It’s playoff rugby
“It’s playoff rugby so we are starting off fresh. There are three games in a row that we have to win (to lift the trophy). We absolutely have to win this game (against Cardiff),” said Dobson.
“As Deon (Fourie) says, it’s not won by magic, it’s won by things like defence, work ethic, attention to detail and that kind of stuff. So we are working on that now.
“We are so happy to be playing in front of our amazing supporters. It has been a tough week for us after what happened (in Wales), but this gives us a massive opportunity to make a statement and put things right.
“We cannot wait to play them in Cape Town, cannot wait to play them on grass, and cannot wait to hopefully set the record straight. It’s not often that you get that chance within two weeks to have another go at them.”
The Stormers will be bolstered by having up to six players coming back from injury and available for the match, including regular captain Ruhan Nel and exciting outside back Seabelo Senatla.
“Having Ruhan back as captain (is great). He leads our defence and it’s massive (having him back). We have really missed Seabelo the whole season. He is one of the guys who gets people out of their seats. He will be back for the quarterfinal as well as one or two others,” said Dobson.
“So to have five or six guys coming in strong and allowing us to probably choose as close to our strongest team that we can, will be fantastic.”