DHL Stormers head coach John Dobson said he was pleased to see signs of the DHL Stormers’ flashy against the Sale Sharks on Saturday, however, he was less impressed with his team’s lack of killer instinct.
The Stormers claimed the maximum points in the third-round Champions Cup clash but significantly gifted their visitors an all-important one log point.
“But it is very tricky, against a team that slows you down like that. I admire their fight, they didn’t want this game to open up, we did the same against Leicester Tigers so this is not judgemental. Credit to them."
“Every kick was contestable, so it was a difficult game for us to open up. So for us to still see good signs, it’s important.”
“What delighted me the most was that we started to see the Stormers of the last two years, in terms of how we played and looked for space with the ball in hand,” Dobson said.
“It reminded me of the glory days. We have missed a little bit of that this season."
However, Dobson was less impressed with his team’s lack of killer instinct, which saw Sale Sharks secure a crucial losing bonus point.
“What does worry me, is we also saw it in the Sharks and Bulls games, we had opportunities to go two-plus scores ahead, to finish the game. It was certainly the case today, on three or four occasions. But that didn’t happen."
“Sitting in the coach's box, you think this game could have been over and we wouldn’t have to go through the agony."
“But then, when the game gets to 73 or 74 minutes, the lead actually starts to look quite imperious. The way we closed out these games, in the last three or four minutes, was very good."
“The fact that we aren’t burying teams when we have them on the ropes is a bit frustrating.”
Dobson confirmed he will take a full-strength squad to Paris next week, looking to cement their place in the Champions Cup play-offs.
“Our goal was to try and get five-zero in terms of log points today. That’s probably why the mood is a little bit irritable. I think if we got five-zero we probably would have been through."
“We are going to do a good job in Paris next week. If we get out of this group of death, it will be a great achievement by the Stormers.”