Stormers head coach John Dobson has apologized profusely for Saturday’s 27-21 loss to the Ospreys in Cape Town, describing it as a “worst performance”.
Dobson’s hopes of making the home play-offs suffered a major blow as Wales dominated the encounter for long periods, eventually outscoring the hosts 4-3 tries to secure a bonus point victory.
The home team were awarded a penalty try in the final minute of the game, which also earned them a bonus point.
the wrong tactics were used
However, they chose to run the ball most of the time, putting in a dreadful performance where their tactics came at a cost, especially when they were pinned down in their own half.
And Dobson didn’t hesitate when making his decision in the postgame press conference.
“It was definitely the worst performance,” he said. “We lost to the Lions in our first URC here, but we were completely dominant in that game in terms of possession.
“We knew the Ospreys were going to fight. They’ve done some great things this season with a small team. Thanks to them, we knew they were going to fight.
“Performance-wise, it was very lax. I’m really sorry. All I can say is I’m sorry. It was poor.”
The visiting team put in an excellent defensive performance and planned to counter the Stormers’ line-out mauls (especially near the Ospreys’ try line), which frustrated the hosts.
This forced the Stormers to force some plays that ultimately led to disastrous results. Ospreys’ two tries came after desperate offloads and cross-field kicks in their own half that went awry.
Ospreys thwart John Dobson’s charge as Stormers deal big blow at home in play-off race
“That was extreme,” Dobson admitted. “We talked about it before the game and at half-time. We had a situation in the first half where we had two tight forwards passing to each other on the try line. We were as loose as possible. That’s a worry. It’s frustrating. I coughed up 16 balls today.
“The important thing for us is to get forward in the middle of the field. We didn’t do that today. Our message before today’s game couldn’t be clearer. We need them first. We let it go, we run direct, hard lines, and then we open up the sides because we have magical playmakers.
“We’re proud of who we are, but it was too loose and very poor. I’m so sorry.”
As a result, the Stormers have dropped one place in the URC table and are now sixth, with a lower point difference meaning the Welsh side are level on 40 points with the Ospreys, who are one place below them.
Dobson made several changes to his underdog side after losing by one point to La Rochelle in the Champions Cup Round of 16 two weeks ago.
“It’s a big wake-up call.”
“Even if we change 10 players, we have to be good enough to beat Ospreys at home,” he said. “That’s part of the project here. That’s a big wake-up call for us tonight.
“When they scored and led 24-14, there were still 17 minutes left. I thought we were still going to win this game. For some reason, we changed our style of rugby and forced it. Did.
“I’d like to give credit to the Ospreys. We didn’t get them going in the scrum except for the last moment and we couldn’t get them going in the maul. That’s a job well done by them.”
read more: Ospreys praise ‘big heart’ and comments that ‘say a lot’ about the team
