Following the DHL Stormers' 38-26 pre-season loss to the Vodacom Bulls at Faure Street Stadium in Paarl, Director of Rugby John Dobson remained upbeat and highly satisfied with the performance, emphasising player development and squad health over the final scoreboard.
Dobson was highly enthusiastic about the performance of his younger players and the squad's developing depth. Out of the 31-man squad selected for the friendly, 17 had never played a United Rugby Championship (URC) match.
"I’m super happy, given the amount of guys that we optionally pulled out of this game, 17 out of that 31 have never played a URC game," Dobson said.
Club rugby recruit Lleyton Davids from Robertson Town RFC stole the show, using his electric pace to score an outstanding try.
"I am quite excited about the performance from Lleyton," Dobson admitted. "He was better than I thought he was going to be. I think there's something really there."
Despite losing shape late in the game due to mass second-half substitutions, Dobson noted that matching a heavily loaded Bulls side for the majority of the match was a massive positive.
"At the start of the second half, we were outstanding. But I knew by the end, once we’d mixed up the pack, we’d lose shape towards the end. I’m happy with where we are and no injuries. That’s the best thing about the game."
The greatest victory for the coaching staff was coming out of a physical north-south derby completely unscathed.
"I thought there was a chance given the lineups and the guys we realised we couldn’t be without for Connacht… It could have gotten away from us," Dobson explained. "That we stayed competitive and didn’t get an injury makes it a really good outcome for us. I think it was a nice experience."
Dobson ruled out a second warm-up before heading to Ireland due to injury risks and thin depth in key areas like locks and the back three. He noted they will have to coach around the current unavailability of key figures such as JD Schickerling, Adré Smith, Warrick Gelant, and Seabelo Senatla.
The expansive style shown in Paarl was designed to test pre-season skills rather than replicate the tactical approach expected against Connacht, which will be more direct.
While frontline Springboks will return after the tour for the fixture against the Sharks, the Stormers suffered a major blow with Cheslin Kolbe sidelined for eight weeks with a broken jaw.