Just In: Stormers coach John Dobson says he is pleased with his team’s pre-season preparations ahead of the new Vodacom United Rugby Championship campaign due to…
Dobbo satisfied with Stormers’ URC build-up
Stormers coach John Dobson says he is pleased with his team’s pre-season preparations ahead of the new Vodacom United Rugby Championship campaign.
The Capetonians played their only warm-up game against the Sharks in George last Friday, going down 26-17. But as Dobson pointed out, results in pre-season fixtures are secondary to testing combinations and giving players game time.
Dobson started with his strongest available side before ringing the changes at half-time, handing fringe players an opportunity to impress.
“I thought we were really good in the first half, and that was with players who were rusty. The first team played some truly good rugby,” Dobson said.
“I felt a bit sorry for the second team. They got over the tryline a couple of times without scoring and I felt like we could’ve take the game away with an entirely different team. But credit to the Sharks, they really put us under pressure in the back last 20 minutes.”
The match was a first pre-season outing for the likes of flanker Ben-Jason Dixon and hooker Andre-Hugo Venter, while new recruit Ruan Ackermann travelled with the squad but did not feature.
Some of the other squad members got some game time in Western Province’s final Currie Cup match against the Boland Cavaliers.
Dobson says he valued the quality of the opposition in the build-up match.
“The Sharks were strong, organised and you could see they really wanted to win. They put us under pressure. A year or two ago, we would’ve played SWD and won by a massive margin. This was very useful.”
The Stormers kick off their URC campaign against Leinster at Cape Town Stadium on Friday, 26 September.
“Leinster are the defending champions. They won the URC with a big squad. It’ll be special and we’ll deliver our best,” Dobson added.
