After the DHL Stormers' 26-17 victory over Bayonne in the Investec Champions Cup, coach John Dobson hailed his team's resilience and squad depth, calling the comeback win "special". However, he was frustrated by poor discipline but proud of how the team overcame adversity.
Dobson lauded his team for the way they "came off the canvas and won" after facing a deficit and a red card for Adré Smith in the second half.
Dobson highlighted the strength of his wider squad.
“We’ve been building this group the whole time. You could name a Stormers XV that didn’t play tonight. Damian Willemse, Suleiman Hartzenberg, Seabelo Senatla, Ruhan Nel, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Jurie Matthee, Cobus Reinach, Stefan Ungerer, Oli Kebble, Vernon Matongo, Frans Malherbe, Zach Porthen, who is a Springbok, Ruben van Heerden, Deon Fourie, Louw Nel, Keke Morabe, the list goes on.”
“It’s a really strong group, and nights like this show it. For a lot of these guys, this was massive.”
“Ntuthuko Mchunu, Neethling Fouche, Lukhanyo Vokozela, Connor Evans, Salmaan Moerat, who is still coming back from injury, Ruan Ackermann, Imad Khan, Johnny Roche, and Clinton Swart. They haven’t had much rugby. For them to play like that in a venue like this is amazing.”
Dobson expressed frustration with the team's poor discipline, which he said got them into trouble and cost them the red card. He mentioned it was an area that needed improvement.
“The first half was great; tactically really good,” he said. “They started really fast and put us under pressure, but we defended very, very well.”
“We got ourselves into trouble. That red card cost us, and our discipline was poor for the second week in a row.”
“Sometimes, with the ball in hand, we do things that put us under pressure. But the way we came off the canvas and won, that’s special.”
