Stormers boss Dobson says it was his most important win at Loftus

The Stormers celebrate their win against the Bulls at Loftus. Picture: Gallo Images Stormers director of rugby John Dobson said his side’s bonus-point win over the Bulls at Loftus on Saturday was the most meaningful of of his wins there since he took the reins in 2019. The teams have clashed 12 times in the United Rugby Championship in that time, five at the Pretoria union’s home ground.

The Stormers have now won four of those, the latest (score 32-19) ending their three-match losing streak while the Bulls also saw the end of their four-game winning run. The Stormers boss admitted that thehype around the resurgent Bulls, and disregard of the Stormers helped them in the build-up. “Nobody gave us a chance,” Dobson said.

“Sometimes that’s good luck, especially when you come to a place like this. It did help that people had written us off.” He said that the fact that the Bulls were as strong as ever made the win all the more meaningful. “Where we’ve come from, a lot of doubt and questions, you think of the noise around some of our players… we were under a lot of pressure.

[paywall]

“It was big win for us because it’s not an average Bulls team. It’s not a Bulls team in crisis. It’s a Bulls team with momentum and real class, well led, well organised.

A big win.” The coach praised his team for defending against the Bulls when down to 13 men, while dominating scrums and lineouts. But the driving force behind the improved performance was a return to theStormers identity.

[/paywall]