DHL Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson said at a post-match interview that the Stormers were too loose and inaccurate in Saturday’s 23-30 loss to the Emirates Lions, and the match against the Vodacom Bulls in two week's time is a must win to keep their United Rugby Championship dreams alive.
"We had to win two of those four because we’ve got a nice home run that would get us enough log points, but unfortunately not winning today puts us in a position where we must win two of our next three."
"Our European record is poor and Loftus is tough. We pretty much have to win in Pretoria to stay alive, is what I feel. It is easier said than done."
"Next week is a slightly down week. We will train and we can’t go off, we don’t deserve to go off. We’ve got plans to make for the Bulls."
"The reality is that it will be the same team that played last week and the same team that played today because none of our big names will be back."
"We are fighters, we fought today, we fight every game, last week we fought, we just have to be more accurate. We’re the Stormers, we have to fight for the people of Cape Town."
Reflecting on the loss against the Lions Dobson did not hold back either.
“I think we were turned over 12 times by half-time. We came out after the break and there were another two turnovers, we knocked on and broken tackles. We just turned over too much ball."
“We were just too loose with the ball and the Lions punished us for it. We were 100 per cent in the lineouts today and 70 per cent possession, possibly 63 per cent territory, which is a pretty emphatic performance."
“The Lions only made like 59 tackles and we did all the carrying and all the playing."
“Those tries in the first half had the Lions’ stamp all over it, we knew about it and didn’t stop it. They were far more accurate than us at the breakdown. They stripped us in the tackle and their physical commitment was amazing."
“They defended exceptionally. I don’t know how many 22 entries we had, but they just wouldn’t go away, so credit to them."