A performance like that will not get the Stormers close to beating Benetton in next weekend’s United Rugby Championship (URC) duel.
Those were the words of the Cape side’s director of rugby John Dobson after they narrowly triumphed over Connacht, beating their visitors 34-29 in a tight contest at the DHL Stadium on Saturday.
Both sides scored five tries, but the kicking boot of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, coupled with his three tries and Player of the Match performance, laid the platform for the Stormers’ victory that propelled them into a URC playoff spot. They currently occupy the 8th place but will look to climb the log further when they face Benetton in Cape Town on Saturday.
“That was a helluva wake-up call, that performance won’t get us close to Benetton,” a relieved Dobson said after the game.
“We all accept that. That is the best and worst I’ve seen us play, that is spot on. To me, it was our worst defensive performance in a couple of seasons, not just this one. And we worked hard on our defence. Credit to Connacht, they are a really good team on the attack. They have the most line breaks and, the most metres made on the attack. We knew it was coming, but defensively we were very poor and our discipline.
Remember that time you saw Sacha score a hat-trick in the first half? Everyone here will. #STOvCON #iamastormer @Vodacom #URC pic.twitter.com/gWooEwib30
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) April 19, 2025
“That was some ‘worldie’ tries, but I don’t think we were at our best (on the attack). Things didn’t flow too much, but we almost scored with every touch we got the ball too easily. Our defence out wide was also horribly exposed.”
Despite the absence of the injured Frans Malherbe and suspended Neethling Fouché, the Stormers’ scrum did excellently with youngster Sazi Sandi anchoring the tighthead side. Veteran loosehead Ali Vermaak also delivered another top performance, claiming a couple of scrum penalties, putting his side on the front foot.
The @Vodacom #URC Man of the Match had to be @sachgome10. #STOvCON #iamastormer pic.twitter.com/Win3FVTtF4
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) April 19, 2025
Flanker Paul de Villiers also acquitted himself well of his task and repaid the faith Dobson put in him as a mobile flanker. He played a crucial role in two of the three tries of Feinberg-Mngomezulu, while the fetcher also put his body on the line trying to slow down Connacht’s ball possession at the breakdown. He will have a bigger role to play going forward in the injury absence of Deon Fourie, who lasted all but 30 seconds when he came on as a replacement.
“I am very chuffed with the scrums; it was encouraging. Paul (De Villiers) was great at six despite the injury to Deon. I am not too worried about that jersey. Vernon Matongo (replacement loosehead) and Sazi Sandi (tighthead) were good too.”
No one was stopping @THESTORMERS from this flying start ⛈@Vodacom #URC | #STOvCON pic.twitter.com/d05Xj0bCuA
— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) April 19, 2025
Now, they are looking forward to the challenge of Benetton who claimed a bonus point against the Lions. Should the Stormers, currently eighth on the URC log, win, they will leapfrog the Italian side and firmly place themselves amongst the top eight with two matches left.
The Dragons and Cardiff will be their final two round-robin matches at home.
“Benetton is a big team and will be a more physical challenge than perhaps the multiphase play of Connacht. We must speed up our own breakdown ball (against them), it was poor. Our set pieces were excellent.
“I don’t think we must look much more beyond discipline, faster ball and exits (from kick-offs). Every time we scored, they got into our 22 and scored.”