John Dobson says the DHL Stormers want two wins from their remaining matches on tour against Zebre and Edinburgh to avoid a repeat of the stumbling start to last season. DYLAN JACK reports.
Coming off a season-opening loss to the Ospreys in Bridgend, the DHL Stormers are eager to bounce back when they take on Italian side Zebre in Parma on Saturday.
Last season saw the Stormers return from a four-week tour winless and with a few losing bonus points in the bag, which put them under pressure from the get-go.
Dobson said on Friday that he is eager to avoid that same experience, as the Stormers set a goal of an eight-point return from this season’s tour.
“We said from the start that we wanted to get two wins on tour. We’ve got ourselves into jail. We’ve played that card already,” Dobson said.
“There’s lots in the process that I saw that was good last week. Our lineouts against Griquas, we lost eight or nine, went up to 100% last week. The way the forwards carried and some of the signs on attack were really, really good.
“It did reveal some flaws, around our exiting. Our contestable game hasn’t been as good away over the last while. It’s something we’ve prided ourselves on. If you want to win overseas, you have to win the contestable game, you have to be able to exit and win your lineouts.
“Our goal, if we want to get these two wins, is to get our exits right, have a good contestable game and see a bit more power in our maul.
“We are going for both games. If we don’t come home with eight or nine points, we will be a little bit disappointed. In some ways we are under pressure.
“We don’t want to go down the journey of last year’s tour, which put a knife to our throats for the rest of the season, trying to make up points. It puts you into your shell and we are trying to develop our attack a bit. When you start feeling that pressure, you start becoming more conservative.
“Two wins is the goal.”
However, this doesn’t mean that the Stormers will be taking Zebre lightly, especially after the home side scalped 2023 champions Munster in a stunning upset last weekend.
“It’s a very different Zebre team now,” Dobson said. “They are all Italian, very young under a brand new coach, playing almost an Irish style of rugby with ball in hand. There’s no baggage of the past, they are fearless.
“It was an exceptional performance against Munster. It hasn’t helped our week in a way. You go from processing the disappointment of Bridgend to the realisation of the pressure of this game.
“They are traditionally one of the weaker teams, but that won’t be the case this year. They have a good team. I don’t see them in that category at all. The URC is getting more competitive each year.”
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
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