Stormers flyhalf Jurie Matthee contributed 14 points in their United Rugby Championship win over the Bulls. Photo: Martin Lellievre / AFP
Image: Martin Lellievre / AFP
Despite a crucial win in Pretoria that boosted their chances of making the top eight of the United Rugby Championship (URC), the Stormers have made peace that a home quarter-final is out of reach.
Currently in 12th place but only one point off a knockout spot, the Cape side will face two games away from home and one win could see them surge into the top eight of the competition.
After the nail-biting 19-16 victory over the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld, Stormers director of rugby John Dobson said they'll target at least one more away game to win, then focus on the home stretch. They face the Scarlets and Ulster in Wales and Ireland in a couple of weeks.
"After the tour, we have a nice four-game home run and that should put us properly in the mix," Dobson said.
"We had to win two of our four (away) games to get to the top six. You don't really want to end eighth because then you must go to the Aviva to a fully loaded Leinster. I know the Bulls did a remarkable thing there three years ago.
"We needed this one (the win against the Bulls) and if we get one on tour, and the home run, we will probably finish similar to last year. I think it is too late for a home playoff, unfortunately."
Dobson said the scrum was a high-focus point for them in the lead-up to the clash.
The Bulls still milked some penalties in that department, but the Cape side stood up to the challenge and were not overpowered as they were in Cape Town in the first North-South derby. Dobson added that he was still disappointed with the amount of penalties they conceded.
"We had one or two scrums early where we looked promising. But they got us in the third or fourth scrum where they deserved the penalty. I couldn't see what was going on on the far side of Wilco (Louw) and Ali (Vermaak) in the first half.
"There were two AR (assistant referee) calls which left us a little bit frustrated. They took our soul in Cape Town (at scrum time), I know the Clayton Blommetjies missed conversion is blamed (for the loss), but the damage was done in the scrums. So it was a big focus.
"They didn't get that massive dominance they got in Cape Town, but they still got four or five penalties, which worries me a little bit. When you get destroyed in the scrum, you lose your energy. So, the huge thing this week was about absorbing that pressure and I their big carriers off nine. For some reason they didn't get that going in the match."