DHL Stormers head coach John Dobson admitted that frustration levels reached a new high and that there is no “easy fix” for the DHL Stormers after back-to-back defeats in the United Rugby Championship.
The Stormers were two wins from two starts at home, but after going down to Benetton in Italy in round 4 on Saturday following a loss at Glasgow Warriors eight days earlier they are experiencing a tour from hell and are currently in the 9th position on the URC table.
“I think ‘frustrating’ is the exact word, right at the end of the game, we had three line-outs in their 22, which would have given us the fourth-try bonus point and the win and we butchered it," Dobson said.
“As much as Benetton fought, we really threw it away. I think we were very impatient with the ball and there were all sorts of curious decisions with the ball in hand with kicking and cross-kicks. Our contestable game was poor, so it was very frustrating.”
The Stormers will now turn their attention to the much-anticipated grudge match in Limerick against Munster on Saturday at 19:15 (SA Time).
“We wanted to go to Munster in a position to attack and not be on the defensive. We needed this win. It was one of the wins we wanted on tour, so it is hugely disappointing for us. Without playing particularly well, we probably done enough to win it."
“It puts a lot of pressure on next week, but we have been in these positions before and we do fight back, but I am very frustrated with this.”
“It puts a lot of pressure on next week, but we have been in these positions before and we do fight back, but I am very frustrated with this.”
Dobson admitted the decision-making side of things is a hard aspect of the game to fix.
“It’s a tough one. Do you walk into the changeroom and shout at Mr X for that? We will have to go over the game in pretty good detail."
“I think we were very impatient with the ball and there were all sorts of curious decisions with the ball in hand with kicking and cross-kicks. Our contestable game was poor, so it was very frustrating."
“Some of our players are X-factor players and we reap the rewards when their things come off and we pay a tax when it doesn’t come off."
“It’s not something you fix like line-out coordination or something like that."
“It is not an easy fix. It is something we have to review ourselves.”