Cape Town - A draw with Leinster in Dublin was probably the best preparation the Stormers could get ahead of their Champions Cup knockout tie on Saturday against Harlequins in Cape Town.
That’s why coach John Dobson played his best team at the RDS Arena, so that they could have a tough battle in the United Rugby Championship (URC) ahead of an all-important European match.
Although a near full-strength Stormers side could not pull off the win, Dobson is relatively happy that his side were pushed to the limit in the 22-22 stalemate.
“The first task (for this match) was to get the guys battle-hardened and ready for Harlequins, which is a knockout game,” Dobson said of the URC clash.
“As a team, we wanted to get together again.
“We didn’t play some guys for the first two rounds of the Currie Cup, so even a Joseph Dweba was a little bit rusty – even the Springboks who have been with us (and not at the Bok camp).
“We tried to get some combinations going. That was our main job to get out of this game; we had it clearly worked out.
“The second thing was to learn more about these conditions.”
Dobson was happy that his second-placed team kept still unbeaten leaders Leinster honest at home, even if some might say it was not the Irish club’s best side that the Stormers faced.
The defending URC champions still showed that they can put teams under pressure and play the same style of running rugby with great line speed on defence, even if the conditions are wet underfoot.
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The Stormers scored some excellent tries and kept Leinster under pressure, especially at ruck time and with their massive defensive effort.
The two points the Stormers picked up also made sure that there is still some breathing space between them and third-placed Ulster on the overall URC log.
With two matches left before the play-offs, the Cape side are still on course to secure a home semi-final if they are to progress past the quarterfinals.
For now, the focus shifts to Harlequins and the Champions Cup knockout match in Cape Town.
“It looks like we’re going to be ready (for Harlequins). We’ve done quite a bit of work on them,” said Dobson.
“It’s going to be a great spectacle in our conditions, with their style of rugby.
“I mean, Danny Care and Marcus Smith, they’ve got real skill with those two half-backs. They play a great, attractive brand of rugby, so
we are going to do what we did against Leinster – slow some ball down (at the breakdown), stop Andre Esterhuizen.
“It’s going to be a great spectacle with hopefully 50 000 people in the DHL Stadium.”
@Herman_Gibbs