Stormers need to be more ruthless says coach

John Dobson was happy to see his Stormers side win over the weekend but lamented a lack of killer instinct from his team.

After the Stormers had secured their four-try bonus point against Sale, they allowed the Premiership outfit back into the clash.

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STORMERS NEED TO BE MORE RUTHLESS

Ultimately, they would win but allowed Sale to secure a bonus point that complicated their own path to the knockouts.

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“What does worry me – we also saw it in the Sharks and Bulls games – we had opportunities to go two-plus scores ahead, to finish the game. It was certainly the case today, on three or four occasions. But that didn’t happen,” Dobson said.

“Sitting in the coaches box, you think this game could have been over and we wouldn’t have to go through the agony.

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“But then, when the game gets to 73 or 74 minutes, the lead actually starts to look quite imperious. The way we closed out these games, in the last three or four minutes, was very good. The fact that we aren’t burying teams when we have them on the ropes is a bit frustrating.”

FREE-FLOWING GAME

Dobson was delighted to see his team begin to express themselves in their rugby.

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“What delighted me the most was that we started to see the Stormers of the last two years, in terms of how we played and looked for space with ball in hand,” Dobson said.

“It reminded me of the glory days,” Dobson laughed. “We have missed a little bit of that this season.

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“But it is very tricky, against a team that slows you down like that. I admire [Sale’s] fight, so this is not judgemental, but they didn’t want this game to open up.

“Every kick was a contestable, so it was a difficult game for us to open up. So for us to still see good signs, it’s important.”

The Stormers face Champions Cup Pool 4 strugglers Stade Francais this weekend.