Lineout lapses, poor discipline and maul defence undo Stormers in rare URC home defeat

Stormers director of rugby John Dobson lamented his side’s poor discipline, inaccuracy at the lineout and stopping rolling mauls after they lost their unbeaten streak in the United Rugby Championship (URC) against the Sharks on Saturday in Cape Town.

The visitors claimed a famous first-ever victory at the DHL Stadium in the URC era, powering to a 33-19 bonus point win in front of a sold-out crowd.

With the loss, the Cape side dropped to second on the overall URC standings, although they have a match in hand over the Glasgow Warriors, currently at the top. They will have the chance to set the record straight this Saturday when they face the Sharks in Durban in the return fixture.

Dobson acknowledged that the Sharks were exceptional, their plans were good, and they played with passion, especially on defence. However, he feels that if they addressed their problems, the score could have been in their favour.

“On both sides of the lineout, we were poor,” Dobson said.

“Not converting our 22 metre entries and our discipline also cost us. I don’t mind (penalties), but foul play penalties like tackling a man in the air or whatever we did, those are frustrating.

“The silver lining to the dark cloud, I suppose, is that we have the opportunity to travel to Durban to set things right. There is an element, and Sacha (Feinberg-Mngomezulu) spoke about it after the game, that the bogey (of being unbeaten) is off our back.

“If you looked at the URC stats before this round, we had the top lineout and scrum, and we didn’t put that picture up. However, we will be back next week.”

Dobson said they’ve already put some plans in place for the return clash at the Shark Tank, ones they set up in advance of the duel in the Cape.

He added that he did not feel they overplayed in an attempt to entertain the crowd, but that missed opportunities — particularly in the second half — and poor discipline ultimately proved their undoing.