Stormers coach John Dobson says they are going to have to fix their lineout and discipline after a disappointing 18-22 defeat to Benetton Treviso in their United Rugby Championship fixture at the weekend.
The Stormers – who were well in control against the Italian side – let an 11-point lead slip after a late surge by the hosts.
It was a poor introduction to the competition overall for the South African sides, with only the Lions securing a win – a 26-38 one against Zebre.
The Bulls and the Sharks were up against Leinster and Munster. The men from Pretoria went down 31-3, while the Sharks took a 42-17 drubbing.
Speaking after the game, Dobson highlighted a number of areas they need to show vast improvement in when they meet against Munster this weekend.
“I think it was a very disappointing performance from us overall,” he said. “To be 11 points up and throw it away like that was poor. Our lineout was poor and there were a few scrum penalties. Our discipline was poor. I am happy with the breakdown. I think we learnt some big lessons today. With the players we had on the field we should have closed it out.
“Next week we go to Munster. There we will meet RG Snyman and Jean Kleyn in our lineout, we lost five or six in the game and that is massive. To give away penalties in the middle of the field…our discipline can certainly improve.
“I thought when we were good when we tried to play with some width and some rhythm and some aspects of our kicking game were also good.
“We are certainly going to have to improve our discipline and lineout – we have to be at 90 percent there, not at 50 or 60 like we were. I didn’t completely understand some of the scrum stuff today, so we will look at that. The way we let ourselves down…we shouldn’t have made those errors that allowed entries for them.”
Dobson went on to say that there are a few things that will take some getting used to now that they are playing in the northern hemisphere.
“They have these big one-off runners and we are not used to that in South Africa, we are used to more creativity and speed. We let our discipline slip in the second half, and these guys just sap it out of you.”
The Stormers’ next assignment is against Munster at Thomond Park in Limerick (kick-off 8.35pm).
@WynonaLouw
IOL Sport