“I never was worried”: John Dobson’s verdict on Stormers’ gritty win in north-south Bulls derby

Stormers director of rugby John Dobson never doubted that his team would pull off a win against the Bulls on Saturday in Cape Town as they racked up victory number eight in the competition to remain unbeaten and atop the United Rugby Championship (URC) log.

It was a pulsating north-south derby clash, albeit one marred by errors from both teams and the match officials. However, the spectacle delivered by the arch-rivals suggested that more fireworks are to come when the rematch takes place in Pretoria.

While the Cape side kept their dominance over local sides in the tournament, winning 13-8, they know the tense ending to the match — where a rolling maul try by prop Ntuthuko Mchunu saved the day after the scores were deadlocked at 8-all — showed that there are plenty of things to improve on.

Dobson, though, was confident his troops would secure the win. They found their attacking rhythm late in the clash and had the Bulls under the pump.

“It’s going to sound a bit full of hubris, but I never was worried in that game,” Dobson said.

“It sounds curious, and I really don’t mean that with any sense of arrogance, but the way we defended, even in the first half when they were on penalty advantage, those double tackles — I just didn’t feel like we were under any sort of defensive pressure.

“Our defence was very, very good, and I didn’t feel like they were going to open us up. It was a question of whether we could get the rumble and the grind on. I don’t mean that arrogantly.”

Dobson added that he thought at one stage they were facing a draw, and said the Bulls played well and scored points when they got within striking distance.

The Stormers wanted to open the game, and at a stage they looked full of running when the visitors tired out, but it was a tough SA derby. Dobson said he would’ve liked to score a couple more tries to give the over 53 000 supporters more to cheer about.

“It was frustrating that the game didn’t get a little flow and rhythm to it, but it was a contest everywhere, and that was amazing. In the scrum, there were proper collisions, and this is probably what makes SA rugby so great and why we win World Cups.

“We are used to these massive contests at the breakdown, in lineouts, at the rolling maul. It is really good for our rugby. But I would’ve liked to have more flow. However, it is the product of being put under pressure.”

Loosehead prop Ali Vermaak, who kept Bok powerhouse Wilco Louw on his toes, went off injured after 20 minutes. It looked serious after he was carted off the field; however, Dobson could not give clarity around his injury.

The Stormers now shift their attention to the Champions Cup challenge against Harlequins and Leicester over the next two weekends. While they are set to take an inexperienced side to England, strengthened by some senior backline players, they have vowed to go all out as they look to maintain their unbeaten run in all competitions.