Stormers players celebrate the try of Marcel Theunissen during the in their URC semi-final against Connacht. Picture: Nic Bothma, BackpagePix
Cape Town – Stormers coach John Dobson had to take his ritual “stress-reliever” walk when Connacht came within four points of his side in the last 15 minutes of their United Rugby Championship (URC) semi-final in Cape Town.
But just as he returned, his men scored the try that eventually took the game away from the Irish side and opened the door for them to comprehensively win by 43-25 in front of a record 47,261 supporters.
Dobson was quick to claim the try, saying it was his ritual that sparked it, at a time in the match when things got too close for comfort for the home side.
"I didn't think – maybe with 15 minutes left when they got within four points – that we were gonna lose it. The plan was working." Dobson said about his team's performance in the play-offs.
"I would've loved us to have more territory, but these Irish teams are high-possession teams and it's hard to get the ball off them at breakdowns.
PUT THAT ONE ON REPEAT 👏
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Hacjivah Dayimani with the spice 🔥🤯
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"But I don't think they could kick distance against us, you saw what happened when we scored the tries. And their contestable I didn't think... So they could not really kick. So we knew they were (going to be) high-possession.
"We were a bit loose with the ball as well and turned possession over."
Dobson described his team's achievement – claiming back-to-back finals in the URC – as an emotional one.
They will play Munster in Cape Town in the final on May 27 in the hope of defending the title they won last year against the Bulls.
According to Dobson, they wanted to show this season that their inaugural win was not a lucky one. And by reaching the final, they have shown that they are the real deal.
Slick hands by the Stormers 🔥
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Manie Libbok dots down under the poles and scores the conversion!
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They are comfortably South Africa's best franchises and can underpin the enormous turnaround in the Cape.
“Our big fear was that we couldn't prove that we belong and our win was not a fluke. If you said we were going to the final this season – we lost a few players – it's an incredible feeling for us.
"The only reason we would want to play the game (final) in Cape Town, is for the people. But us going to the Aviva (in Dublin) will be a great experience for the growth of this group and we will put up a good performance.
"It's incredibly special because, and this might be silly, but we will be the only team to have played two finals. It will probably change next year."
The Stormers coach gave credit to Connacht for fighting right until the end and praised them for never making it easy for his side.
"Like us, they have a massive amount of fight. And they play a very clever form of rugby. They got too close for comfort. We thought we could break them, but they never lied down."