Stormers star Seabelo Senatla in action. Image: Stormers website
Dobson hails Stormers after ‘Quins win
Stormers head coach John Dobson was full of praise for his Stormers players after they advanced into the Champions Cup quarter-finals.
Stormers star Seabelo Senatla in action. Image: Stormers website
Stormers head coach John Dobson was full of praise for his Stormers players after they advanced into the Champions Cup quarter-finals.
The Cape side conceded a whack of tries once the result was no longer in doubt but that didn’t wipe the smile off of the smiling Dobson.
More than 30 000 fans enjoyed the 32-28 win at DHL Stadium.
ALSO READ: Red cards at the World Cup: TMOs to reduce drama?
Dobson praises ‘absolutely superb’ display
“We were very good, absolutely superb,” Dobson said after the match.
“Everything went according to our plan. A lot of people will talk about the last six minutes, but this Harlequins team has come back and beaten Bristol from 30 points down. They have beaten a lot of teams like that. The game was well won by then.
“Our plan was to defend very well, which we did. When I say we are happy with the performance, I don’t mean to say that we thrashed Harlequins. They are a good team, a really, really good team. They never go away, as we saw in those last few minutes.
ALSO READ: Kolbe injury news to make Bok management sweat
ALSO READ: Bulls go shopping in Scotland for flyhalf
Pressure paid off
“The way we defended, we wanted to put them under pressure at the halfbacks, put Marcus Smith under a little bit of pressure. I thought we slowed the ball down nicely. Deon [Fourie] and Kitsie [Steven Kitshoff] were both outstanding.
“We made a couple of mistakes in the back five minutes of the first half. We gave away some penalties and lost a set piece or two. We also got a bit loose in the middle of the second half. To be 32-7 up at around the 70th minute is pretty special, especially in our first Champions Cup knockout game against a team of that ability.”
The Stormers will be watching the Sunday fixture between Exeter Chiefs and Montpellier. If the English side win then the Stormers must travel for next week’s clash.
If the French side win, then the Stormers have a home semi-final.
The Stormers are in second place in United Rugby Championship with home games against Munster and Benetton to come in April.
ALSO READ: Springboks could miss Six Nations AND Rugby Championship
