A lack of composure proved costly for the stuttering Stormers when they slumped to a third consecutive United Rugby Championship (URC) loss on Saturday, coach John Dobson said.
After losing home and away to the Sharks, the stuttering Stormers crashed to a 24-10 defeat against a resurgent Lions team at Ellis Park.
A crestfallen Dobson apologised to Stormers fans for his team’s below-par performance.
“This was a very disappointing result, and three defeats in a row is not good for us,” Dobson said.
“I still think we showed signs of being a reasonable team that will be back.
“We would like to apologise to our supporters for this run of results.
“Some of the stuff we looked at from the Sharks game in Durban we sort of got right, but we simply made far too many mistakes.
“In the first half, we turned over nine balls in contact, and we kept doing that unfortunately.”
Dobson rued his team’s inability to take advantage when the Lions were reduced to 13 players late in the game.
“Despite our start, I thought we had enough time, especially when they were down to 13, to turn the game,” he said.
“But we just didn’t show any composure whatsoever.
“Even in the dying minutes, two passes went out from the hands into touch when we were chasing the bonus point. Held up three times over the line.
“There were also a few calls we could’ve argued; maybe some of those things could’ve been interpreted differently.
“The truth is, we didn’t deserve to win it.
“We are very disappointed to have not come away with a few points from this game.”
Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen said his team’s mental strength had proved decisive at Ellis Park.
“I think we’ve grown a lot over the past month,” he said.
“Mentally, in the moment, the experienced leaders are driving hard and pushing what’s needed for the next set, what’s needed for the next five sets. I’m incredibly proud of our performance.
“The last 20 minutes were an immense defensive effort, and going down to 13 players was tough.
“We had to understand what was needed — work rate and body height.
“I think our body height was a lot better in the past two weeks, and that’s why we managed to stop momentum a bit better.”
Despite the win, Van Rooyen said he needed to be better at scrum time.
“Our set-piece didn’t really operate today [Saturday] like we feel it can and wanted it to,” he said.
Lions captain Francke Horn said his players had shown composure when the chips were down.
“I’m very happy about the game we played,” he said.
“The first half was a bit back and forth, and then we had two chances that we used very well.
“We know that the Stormers will never lie down. So to then get two cards, the calmness came from the experienced players.”
Scorers:
Lions 24: Tries: Siba Mahashe, Henco van Wyk, Erich Cronje. Conversions: Chris Smith (3). Penalty: Smith.
Stormers 10: Try: JD Schickerling. Conversion: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. Penalty: Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
In another URC clash on Saturday, the Bulls scored a decisive 41-12 win over the Sharks at Loftus.
Scorers:
Bulls 41: Tries: Canan Moodie, Sebastian de Klerk, Embrose Papier (2), Harold Vorster (2), Paul de Wet. Conversions: Handré Pollard 3.
Sharks 12: Tries: Edwill van der Merwe, Hanro Jacobs. Conversion: Jordan Hendrikse (1).
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