The Stormers left Belfast with three points, battered nerves and a lingering sense that a victory had slipped through their fingers like a wet ball in winter rain.
Director of rugby John Dobson cut a frustrated figure after Friday night’s pulsating 38-38 United Rugby Championship draw against Ulster Rugby, a result that knocked the Cape side off the top of the table.
The Stormers appeared to have one hand wrapped around the contest during periods of dominance, only for costly errors and ill-discipline to loosen their grip. Their late escape came through a penalty try after referee Andrea Piardi ruled that Ulster scrumhalf Nathan Doak had made shoulder-to-head contact with winger Leolin Zas as he launched for the corner.
“It’s probably a mixture of frustration that we didn’t get five points, because I thought at times our dominance was pretty imperious,” Dobson said.
“But in the end, we’re probably lucky to get the three.”
Like a pack wasting momentum at a collapsing scrum, the Stormers squandered several golden opportunities. Dobson identified four decisive moments that pierced their challenge.
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“There were four clear moments,” he said.
“The two pick-and-go penalties we conceded, one of which is a 14-point swing, then Evan [Roos’] knock-on on the tryline from a pick-and-go, and when Imad Khan knocked on as he was played.
“Those are four clear tries, and that’s without the general ‘what-ifs’. So that was frustrating, some of our mistakes.”
The aerial duel also became a thorn in the Stormers’ side. Under Belfast’s swirling skies, Ulster’s kicking game hovered like a box kick hanging beneath floodlights, forcing the visitors onto the back foot.
“I think the most disappointing thing, in very tough conditions with a swirling wind, was the contestable kicking game,” Dobson admitted.
“We’ve worked so hard to become good at that, and we lost one or two of those contests. Ulster were slightly better than us, which has not been the case in a while.
“But again, it wasn’t easy conditions.”
Dobson reserved his sharpest criticism for his side’s discipline late in the match.
“Very disappointed with the discipline. We got offside for the last few penalties, the soft penalties, and that put us under a bit of pressure.
“I think, to improve for Cardiff, our discipline is key.
“Some of our set-ups around the contestable kicking can be easily improved, those quick fixes.”
Despite the frustration, Dobson drew encouragement from the Stormers’ ability to score tries without relying on their traditional forward dominance.
“We’re a team that has relied a lot on scrum and maul penalties to get territory and attack,” he said.
“But we didn’t get that reward. We had one scrum on our ball, which is normally where you get penalties, and they stopped our mauls very effectively.
“So, we had to find another way, and I thought that was very pleasing, that we could still score tries and get on top of them without that scrum and maul dominance.
“It’s definitely a game we feel we should have won, without taking anything away from Ulster.”
The Stormers now head to Wales for a high-stakes clash against playoff-hunting Cardiff Rugby at the Arms Park on Friday night, knowing another slip could leave their title charge wobbling like a tired prop in the closing scrums.
