Cape Town – The performance against Zebre Parma wasn’t perfect, but coach John Dobson praised the character of the Stormers in their 37-20 victory in Italy at the weekend.
A polished display and 22 points from young inside centre Sacha Mngomezulu helped the Cape side overcome a spirited comeback, with the bonus-point try from the No 12 in the final stages the cherry on top and extend an incredible winning streak to 14.
The Stormers won’t be at full-strength either for this Friday’s United Rugby Championship clash against the Ospreys in Swansea (8.35pm SA time kickoff), with Springboks Damian Willemse and Herschel Jantjies rested ahead of the end-of-year tour to Europe.
“My gratitude goes to those boys who play for 80 minutes and beyond the hooter in each match. You can’t coach that, and you can’t teach that. To want to get the bonus point on a difficult afternoon when everything says kick the ball into the stands and take the win away from home in another country, speaks volumes for the character of these guys,” Dobson said in his weekly ‘Dobbo’s Diary’ column on the team website on Tuesday.
“We go again on Friday night, with different combinations and with new goals, but we start with 15 points from a possible 15. Last season, we went into round four with no wins and three points from a possible 15.
“Three matches played and three five-pointers, 15 league points in total and with our four-try bonus-point coming in the final minute of every match.
“RESPECT – and the CAPS is deliberate. Respect to the squad, each one of them, who get the DNA of the Stormers, who get the rugby culture of Western Province and who get what it means to wear this jersey and be a part of history.
“Every time these boys play now, they create history. They have now won 14 matches in succession. It is an incredible achievement, and to not acknowledge it would just be wrong.”
A biceps injury to hooker Chad Solomon also sees JJ Kotze flying up to Wales this week to provide back-up to André-Hugo Venter, with the Stormers keen to fix a few lineout wobbles from the Zebre game.
But whatever happens against the Ospreys – a team even a weakened Stormers outfit should beat – Dobson emphasised that it will be a squad effort.
“What I do want to state emphatically is the team philosophy of a squad. You don’t win a match in this league with 15 players, and you don’t win the title with a match-day squad of 23 players,” he said.
“We are an extended squad and everyone in that squad must play throughout the season, and when we succeed it is because of the entirety of the squad.
“Pre-season, we set ourselves targets, to win the first two home matches. We achieved that, with two try-scoring bonus points. We set ourselves a target to win in Parma, Italy, against Zebre, and we achieved that with a try-scoring bonus point.
“It was a wonderful achievement, given we started the opening match of the season with just five of the XV who started the 2021/22 URC title winning final against the Bulls at the Stadium in Cape Town.
“This was always going to be a season of so many layers. We must defend a title, manage the game time of the current Springboks, integrate the next generation of players into our system, play our brand of rugby and get wins.”
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