“We are much happier tonight. It may not be so easy to see. Watching replays, yes, we had to grind it out but I thought our processes were much better”
Last week they won their game against the Lions with character, this week, they won it with their processes.
That was the most pleasing aspect for Stormers head coach John Dobson after their Super Rugby meeting with the Jaguares at Newlands.
The Stormers went four-out-of-four with their gritty win over the Argentines and have now won all of their matches at Newlands so far.
Even though they kept the Hurricanes and the Bulls scoreless in Cape Town and secured a late victory against the Lions at Ellis Park, in the build-up to the Jaguares match, Dobson said that they could only say they’re building a habit of winning if they secured a positive result against the South Americans as well.
He also raised a number of things he took issue with in terms of their play, but after Saturday afternoon’s performance, he was a much happier man.
“I was frustrated last week because I thought that we won the game with character,” Dobson said.
“We are much happier tonight. It may not be so easy to see. Watching replays, yes, we had to grind it out but I thought our processes were much better.
Quantifiably better
“Our set piece was solid, our breakdown was superb, ball retention was good against a team that was going to hack the ball and make us start in our 22.
“In terms of the stuff that we wanted to improve, we were quantifiably better. Losing four turnovers in their 22 in the first half was a bit frustrating.
“That was a really good team and their tactics were good. To be honest, we are pretty pleased with that performance.
“Maybe those long passes from the flyhalf to a tight forward in the rain we got tactically wrong. But generally, on a dry day, with that amount of territory and possession, I was pretty pleased.”
Dobson added that while he feels they’re still not operating at full potential, the fact that they’ve managed to remain unbeaten is a positive.
“Without being arrogant, I thought we thoroughly deserved to win that game. The frustration was at half-time that the score was only 3-0. So hopefully that’s where we are going.
“I know at round two it does not matter, but at Round Four we are the only unbeaten team and still not playing to our potential.
“It was certainly a big step up for me.”
