Stormers coach John Dobson isn't shy about his team's chances against Cardiff in the upcoming Vodacom URC quarter-final at Cape Town Stadium. Despite a recent loss to the same team, Dobson's confidence remains unshaken as he labels the match-up as potentially the "easiest" of the quarter-finals.
Dobson's bold claim came during a conversation with CapeTalk, where he didn't mince words about his preference for the quarter-final opponent.
"It's probably the easiest of the quarter-finals,"
he stated, emphasizing the advantage of playing on home turf. "If we won in Cardiff, we would have faced the Lions, and I think we'd be a lot more angst-ridden than we are about Cardiff."Despite this confidence, the Stormers are navigating through a rough patch, coming off a loss that Dobson admits has impacted the team's morale deeply. "That last game was really expensive emotionally," he revealed, suggesting that the defeat has caused some doubt within the squad about their capabilities against top-tier teams.
Further addressing the critique around the team's performance, Dobson defended the Stormers' offensive strategy.
"We are second for the most entries in the whole URC, which is a good stat,"
he argued, pointing out that the real issue lies in converting these opportunities into points, with the team ranked ninth at 1.7 points per entry.Looking ahead to the quarter-final, Dobson highlighted defense, tackle dominance, and territorial kicking as the key areas for improvement, particularly criticizing their poor kicking game in the previous match against Cardiff. "We were minus-250 in Cardiff, so we have to get that right," he stressed, pinpointing it as a major concern that could decide the fate of the upcoming game.
The Stormers are set to take the field against Cardiff this Saturday, aiming to vindicate their coach's faith and advance in the URC. With the quarter-final stakes high, all eyes will be on Cape Town Stadium to see if Dobson's strategic gambles pay off.