Dobson’s delight: Stormers blank defending champions Leinster in URC opener

Not even John Dobson, the Stormers’ director of rugby, could have predicted that his relatively inexperienced side would keep Leinster scoreless for 80 minutes in their United Rugby Championship (URC) opener on Friday.

That’s exactly what they achieved, beating the competition’s defending champions comfortably at DHL Stadium, scoring four tries in the process in a 35-0 drubbing. It was the perfect start to the new season for the Cape side, but they know they’ll have to maintain that standard when they face the Ospreys this coming weekend.

While it took them a full 40 minutes to get a grip on the game, the graft in the first half pleased Dobson and captain Ruhan Nel, even though two chalked-off tries left the score at just 6-0 at the break.

“I didn’t expect that,” Dobson admitted when asked about the emphatic result.

“However, this is a base for us (ahead of the season). This game was a lot about process without some of those guys who make the magic. That was good. They tried to frustrate us in the first half, but credit to the guys for the way we stuck at it.

“It probably is the perfect start for us. I am super proud of Ruhan (Nel, captain) and the team because we had a slightly different plan instead of the normal Stormers style in terms of our game model. This was about hard work, intensity, physicality, and sticking to our plan. That was a magic performance.”

Dobson admitted he sensed Leinster would “break” at some point, despite the tight halftime score. The Stormers had two tries overturned in the first half but never lost composure. They kept knocking, and early in the second half the dam wall finally broke as the visitors’ defence caved in.

The home side scored four well-constructed tries through their rolling maul and incisive backline play. Leinster produced flashes of attack, but two yellow cards in the second half left them vulnerable as the Stormers took full control.

Now, Dobson and his charges face the challenge of backing up their opening-day brilliance with a second straight victory when they host the Ospreys in Cape Town on Friday, before heading overseas for their first tour of the new season.