Stormers relieved to pick up on tour

STORMERS head coach John Dobson has lauded his team’s physicality in their maiden United Rugby Championship win on Friday night.

In wet conditions at Newport, the Stormers were 10-9 down at half-time, but a strong second half saw them not conceding any points after the break, while wing Leolin Zas’ brace helped them to a 24-10 victory.

All of the Dragons’ points came when the Stormers were down to 14 men after skipper Salmaan Moerat was sin-binned for a high hit in the first half.

The South Africans’ defence, however, was immovable as they halted a few promising attempts at their tryline by the Welsh side.

After a struggling start to the new competition, the victory was much needed as the Stormers will now head into a break before returning to action on home soil in late November.

In round one, they suffered a disappointing defeat against Benetton Treviso, while round two stung even more as they squandered an 11-point lead and a superb first half against Irish giants Munster to go on and lose the game.

Last week, their game against Edinburgh ended in a 20-all draw.

Speaking after the game, Dobson praised his men and their physicality.

“It was a supreme physical effort,” said Dobson after the match.

“I think the Dragons are probably one of the most physical teams in this league, and they have a great pack of forwards. Our belief started to build as we were able to take the forwards’ legs out, and I thought we just wanted it more.”

He continued by saying the way their own pack stood up to the Dragons’

– which boasted a large contingent of international players – made him proud.

“I think there are six players in that pack who are in the Wales squad, and I think we had the upper hand there by the end of it,” Dobson said.

“I’m very proud of the effort. It’s a tricky place to play, and it’s wet and slippery, so we probably lacked a bit of rhythm in some ways, but we’ll take it.”

The win no doubt came as a relief for Dobson, who added that they needed to get a win on tour after a rough start.

Speaking in the build-up to the clash, he said that a winning bonus

point would allow them to feel that they represented well in the first few rounds of the competition.

While they didn’t get that, this victory will do a lot for the Stormers’ confidence heading into the break.

The Stormers are next in action when they host Italian team Zebre on November 27.