John Dobson says the DHL Stormers are back in the frame for a top-four finish after a bonus-point win against Dragons in Newport. DYLAN JACK reports.

The DHL Stormers produced a sensational final 20 minutes to carve Dragons to shreds in a 44-21 victory, after trailing 21-16 in the second half at Rodney Parade on Friday night.

A full house of points means that there is just a solitary log point separating the Stormers from the fourth-placed Vodacom Bulls, set to face league leaders Glasgow Warriors on Saturday afternoon.

While a home playoff is probably out of reach for the Stormers, Dobson made it clear they will fight to the bitter end to get into the top four, though they have no fear of potentially travelling for a playoff.

“Look, I think the top four probably went when we lost to Ospreys,” Dobson said. “But we will keep fighting. Munster won everything away last year, even though that is clutching a bit at straws.

“We’ve put ourselves in the frame for it now. What we just couldn’t have let happen, is not play and not be in the top eight and the playoffs.

“There’s nobody we are really scared of in this competition,” Dobson added. “There’s nobody we would be scared of going away to or anything like that.

“If we had lost it would have been really traumatic for us. We are in the fight now. If some other results go our way, we could finish in the top four, which will be great. Our focus is on experiences like this, so we can start winning away. That’s why this was so important.”

Looking at the match itself, Dobson admitted that he couldn’t explain why – lack of intensity aside – the Stormers found themselves trailing, especially as they were defensively solid.

“In the coaches box it was very quiet,” he said.  “We were in purgatory, I couldn’t believe what was happening because this game was so important for us. The team seemed to have much more confidence than us.

“The big turning moment wasn’t actually anything on attack. It was when they got back into our 22 when they were 21-16 up and we held them out. There were some immense tackles. You could just see this team say, ‘enough is enough now’.

“Winning away and seeing that Stormers fight and those transitions, it might sound silly, but it’s important to us. I will give the players credit because in the coaches box we were a bit more panicked than the players. We did really well to turn it around.”

Photo: Kian Abdullah/Huw Evans Agency/Gallo Images

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Src: sarugbymag.co.za