John Dobson says the Stormers face a challenge in the Vodacom URC playoffs following a red card for star playmaker Damian Willemse in Friday night’s win against Cardiff.
The head coach was addressing the media after the Stormers secured fifth place on the log with a 34-24 bonus-point victory at Cape Town Stadium.
The match featured two red cards – Willemse’s dismissal for a high hit on Cardiff winger Gabe Hamer-Webb and Danny Southworth for a dangerous tackle on Stormers prop Neethling Fouche.
While pleased with the performance, Dobson acknowledged the potential impact of Willemse’s dismissal on the Cape outfit’s playoff campaign.
“I haven’t seen it enough to comment on what the impact is,” said Dobson of the Willemse high hit. “He was stuck. I don’t think he was trying to hit with the shoulder… I think he was trying to turn.
“The implications, I’m sure, are going to be poor for us. I’ve got no doubt. We can’t appeal until there is a decision. I don’t see them overturning that. It’s a disaster for us.”
RECAP: Stormers lash Cardiff to lock in fifth
Despite this setback, Dobson praised his team’s performance against a spirited Cardiff outfit. Wingers Suleiman Hartzenberg and Leolin Zas each scored a brace of tries as the Stormers converted a 19-12 half-time advantage into a convincing win, though Cardiff fought until the final whistle.
“As good as they were, and they fought and they were organised and never really went away, I don’t think we ever really looked like losing. That’s a good performance given the changes,” he said.
Despite playing with 14 men, the Stormers’ attack proved too potent for the Welsh visitors.
“It’s nice that we’ve played four teams with really good attacks over the last four weeks. It’s a good playoff test,” Dobson said.
“The whole thing today was to keep our momentum, protect some players and say goodbye to some guys who won’t play another home game. I think we got all that right.”
The Stormers now await Saturday’s results to determine whether they’ll face the Sharks in Durban or travel to Scotland to battle defending champions Glasgow Warriors.
“I was absolutely unequivocal that we wanted to go to Durban, and now I think we’re quite relaxed. This team will play whoever,” Dobson said, open to whatever match materialised.
“Obviously our goal was to host a quarter-final, so that’s a disappointment. I think we’re good enough to be in the top four despite our budget, and that’s got to be our goal for next season.”
Photo: Cole Cruickshank/Gallo Images
