John Dobson praises Stormers URC grit

The Stormers will head into round four of their United Rugby Championship (URC) title defence, filled with confidence, but coach John Dobson is fully aware that they will need to do more to take a step closer to perfection. Especially with two extremely tough matches in Wales waiting on them over the next couple of weeks.

Three wins from three matches – a solid way to start the campaign. What’s more impressive is the fact that the Stormers got the full haul of five points from all three encounters. All three bonus points came in the last minute of their respective matches. That shows the determination of this Stormers side, which coach John Dobson praised in his weekly newsletter published on the teams’ website.

“My gratitude goes to those boys who play for 80 minutes and beyond the hooter in each match. You can’t coach that, and you can’t teach that,” wrote the coach in Dobbo’s Diary.

“To want to get the bonus point on a difficult afternoon when everything says kick the ball into the stands and take the win away from home in another country speaks volumes for the character of these guys.

“Every time these boys play now, they create history. They have now won 14 matches in succession. It is an incredible achievement and to not acknowledge it would just be wrong.”

🇮🇹 The Italian Job#iamastormer #dhldelivers @Vodacom #URC pic.twitter.com/z0gVWLCRdI

— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) October 11, 2022

Stormers on the march

What John Dobson and his management team at the Stormers have been able to accomplish over their first three matches of the URC deserves praise and recognition. The success can be traced back to their previous season, where they didn’t shy away from giving their youngsters the necessary opportunities.

“Pre-season, we set ourselves targets, to win the first two home matches. We achieved that, with two try-scoring bonus points,” said the coach.

“We set ourselves a target to win in Parma, Italy, against Zebre, and we achieved that with a try-scoring bonus point.

“It was a wonderful achievement, given we started the opening match of the season with just five of the XV who started the 2021/22 Vodacom URC title-winning final against the Vodacom Bulls at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town.”

Good must be better, and better must be best

Still, they continue to push toward perfection. The label of defending champions is one that invites challenge, and behind the scenes, they put hard yards in to assure that they remain up for the tasks at hand.

“For most of you, the only insight you have to the squad is on match day, but it would be wrong of me to not want to tell you about the six days you don’t see them play. These are boys who want to succeed, for themselves, for their families and for every rugby supporter in the province.

“They hurt in training if it doesn’t go well, and they hurt during the match if it isn’t always going according to plan. There are times when we all must remind ourselves of the joy in our results and performances.

“In that grand world of utopia we strive for the perfect game, the perfect performance and the perfect result. I know it doesn’t exist because the opinion is subjective and on that one day that I may feel we have reached rugby utopia, I may be reminded by an astute rugby brain that we failed in a basic application of the game.”

A battle up north

The Stormers are still on tour and will have to dig deep to bring home as many points as they can before coming home. They are in Swansea on Friday night where they play the Ospreys, before heading to the Welsh capital to play Cardiff next week.

The Stormers’ first home game will be on 25 November.

“Mostly, whether we play at home or away or abroad, your support is huge, and it is so influential to our psyche,” said Dobbo.

“We go again on Friday night, with different combinations and with new goals, but we start with 15 points from a possible 15. Last season, we went into round four with no wins and three points from a possible 15.”