A subdued Stormers side must re-ignite their inner hunger and desperation for victory after they crashed to a 22-16 defeat against a fired-up Cardiff side on Friday, coach John Dobson said.
The Stormers were again guilty of not taking full advantage of scoring opportunities that came their way in a United Rugby Championship clash they had been favoured to win in Wales.
In their previous outing, when they were held to a 38-38 draw against Ulster in Belfast, the misfiring Cape side were also guilty of squandering chances, and a concerned Dobson says it is a problem that must be eradicated before the playoffs.
Despite Friday’s loss, the Stormers remained in the top four and will host a quarterfinal rematch against a Cardiff side who will have their tails up at the Cape Town Stadium on May 30.
“A very disappointing performance from us,” Dobson said.
“We give Cardiff all the credit they deserve.
“They were desperate, and I’m sorry that their desperation meant more to them than our chance to host a series of playoffs (quarterfinal and semifinal) in Cape Town.
“I thought Cardiff’s attack and defence were very good.
“They put us under pressure defensively, got yards on us, very clever attack, and they were just really desperate.
“We had lots of areas of dominance and lots of opportunities that we probably wasted, very similar to last week.
“Failure to convert when we were five metres out and the fact that we didn’t get a behaviour change are a problem for us.
Dobson said his team would have to improve if they wanted to land the URC title.
“We’re going to have to regroup,” he said.
“We know what’s in this group, and we’ll regroup quickly.
“It’s our first URC away loss this year outside the country and a very disappointing one at the wrong time.
“We’re just a really bruised team. We’re going to have to do much better than this in the quarterfinal.”
With a home quarterfinal secured before kick-off and one bonus point earned at the Cardiff Arms Park, the Stormers ended the regular season with 60 log points.
The visitors made a strong start, winning a series of scrum penalties before lock Adre Smith forced his way over for the opening try.
Cardiff responded with tries from wings Beetham and Bowen to take the lead on the 20-minute mark.
The Stormers kept in touch with a penalty from Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu but were reduced to 14 men when Smith was shown a yellow card late in the first half for a high tackle.
Cardiff scored their third just before the break to take a 17-10 advantage into half-time.
The Stormers were first to score in the second half as Feinberg-Mngomezulu kicked a second penalty, but Cardiff responded with a second try from Beetham to secure their bonus point and make it 22-13.
The Cape side threw absolutely everything at the home side in the dying stages to try and snatch a win but, in the end, had to settle for one last penalty to claim a solitary bonus point for their efforts.
Scorers:
Cardiff 22: Tries: Jacob Beetham (2), Tom Bowen and Ioan Lloyd. Conversion: Ioan Lloyd.
Stormers 16: Try: Adre Smith. Conversion: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. Penalties: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (3).
Other scores: Sharks 54 Zebre 19, Bulls 45 Benetton 19, Munster 24 Lions 17.
URC Play-Off Format
Quarterfinals: May 29: QF1: Glasgow Warriors vs Connacht; May 30: QF4: Bulls vs Munster; QF3: Stormers vs Cardiff; QF2: Leinster vs Lions.
Semifinals: June 6: SF1: Winner QF1 vs Winner QF4; SF2: Winner QF2 vs Winner QF3
URC final: June 20: Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2
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