Gutted Stormers will switch focus back to URC, says Dobson

A gutted Stormers team will switch their focus back to achieving success in the United Rugby Championship after they were edged 28-27 by Toulon in a high-octane Investec Champions Cup last 16 encounter in France on Saturday, coach John Dobson said.

The outcome was in the melting pot until the dying moments before the Stormers endured the heartbreak of being denied a try in debatable circumstances at a vibrant Stade Mayol stadium.

With their eyes firmly on the biggest prize in world club rugby, the Stormers will give it a full crack when they face French powerhouse Toulon in an Investec Champions Cup last 16 showdown on Saturday, says coach John Dobson. The Cape side is expecting a titanic battle all over the park against a tenacious Toulon side who have a dominant pack and fast backs at the Stade Mayol in France (kickoff 4pm). “It is a really good Toulon team with a strong scrum, and they’re very fast,” said Dobson. “We want to respect this competition and we want to go as far as we can. No South African team has made a semifinal, so that’s something we’re very aware of. I don’t think we’re going to grind it out against that size pack. But what an experience for us. It’ll be a part of our growth. We’ll give it a full go — a full, full crack “Toulon caught us when we played them before, with just how quick they are across the park. They win every scrum battle. They are highly ranked in France, and we’re going to have to spin and win. “I don’t think we’re going to grind it out against that size pack. But what an experience for us. It’ll be a part of our growth. We’ll give it a full go — a full, full crack. “Our set-piece will be crucial against Toulon. The Stormers pride ourselves on our scrum, but they’re one of the best in France. Toulon win every scrum battle. I think they’re No 2 in France. We are going to have to spin and win.” Dobson said his team lacked patience when they beat Edinburgh 33-14 on Saturday. “There is a lack of patience within the team,” he said. “We talk about our 22m entries a lot, but we have to find solutions for that. Instead of throwing a skip pass and ending up tied seven-all rather than 14-0 ahead [after an intercept try], we could have looked for the pick-and-go with the forwards at that stage. “From our first five entries, we scored zero points. It is something we must fix. “I am pleased with the victory. However, we don’t really enjoy playing at this time [7pm] against northern hemisphere opposition in Cape Town. “We get a lot of criticism but we are second on the log and reasonably well-positioned, although we are also doing plenty wrong. “It was a bit frustrating not to have had a bigger lead at halftime, especially with the intercept, but towards the end we were well on top. It is very much a job done for me.” “We’re in a very good position in terms of our front-row depth, which is coming along nicely, and we are seeing some good results.” Stormers captain Ruhan Nel said: “I spoke to the referees downstairs after the Edinburgh game, and they said it’s quite an experience to play Toulon. “Even playing them in Gqeberha a couple of years ago, just to face a French team of that magnitude was a special occasion for us. To have them now on their home field in front of their home crowd is going to be something special.” Stormers assistant coach Rito Hlungwani said: “Look, Toulon are a very good team despite their recent results. “They’ve got quality players all over — internationals, strong scrummagers –— so we’re expecting a really tough game. There’s definitely no complacency from our side. “It’s another game we want to win. We want to give it our best shot, like we have the past few weeks. “They have some very good players like England prop Kyle Sinckler, who is a very strong scrummager, and England flank Lewis Ludlam. We also know lock Dave Ribbans quite well, as he came through our system. “We’re in a very good position in terms of our front-row depth, which is coming along nicely, and we are seeing some good results.” Follow The Herald WhatsApp channel today and stay connected to the stories shaping our world. The Herald

The Cape side thought they had snatched the game out of the fire, but joy turned to despair when it was ruled the Stormers had been held up over the line following a TMO review.

A frustrated Dobson questioned the decision not to award a try to his team after Toulon flank Charles Ollivon, who was on the ground and appeared to be offside, prevented lock Adre Smith from scoring.

“I was very impressed with the fight shown by the Stormers,” Dobson said.

“We needed to score twice with eight minutes to go, and we should never have been in that position.

“We would’ve loved to have won this game at one of the cathedrals of rugby, but we were maybe not quite good enough in some areas.

“The Stormers didn’t get our usual scrum dominance, and it just seemed to be a bit more of a mess.

“But our players mustn’t lose heart – it was still a fantastic performance. Now we have to focus on the URC.”

“We had to adapt to some Champions Cup interpretations.

“Obviously a bit frustrated at the end there.

“Once it goes to the TMO, then maybe you can’t see the grounding, and the on-field decision for some reason is no try.

“What’s frustrating for us is that Toulon flank Charles Ollivan is clearly inside the field of play and on the ground.

“I believe Adre Smith got it down, but I don’t understand why it wasn’t awarded.

“A very frustrating way for the game to end.”

Dobson said work needed to be done on the Stormers’ defensive drills ahead of their next URC match against Irish side Connacht at the Cape Town Stadium on April 18.

“I think we could have been more accurate around some of our spacing on defence, but we defended really well with heart and physicality. And you can see that Toulon was visibly tiring after some great defensive sets,” he said.

“A very big moment would have been after we scored to go ahead and then we really messed up an exit and ended up with them scoring a try, which is one of the worst things in rugby.”

Stormers playmaker Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu said the option of a drop goal was not considered in the frenetic final moments.

“We probably had them in the contest,” he said.

The first match of Saturday afternoon at the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival was, for Framesby, all about redemption after they were run off their feet by Westville Boys’ High on Thursday. For Glenwood, beaten by Helpmekaar in their opener, it was a chance to make their many local supporters happy. From the opening whistle, one could sense greater urgency in Framesby’s approach, but the Green Machine was uncompromising, and that made for a good, hard-hitting contest. Both sides showed their willingness to run the ball, and both showed equal enthusiasm for closing down space as quickly as possible, reflected in the final margin as Framesby eked out a 15-14 victory. Miles Feltham, who controlled the game confidently from flyhalf for Framesby, opened the scoring with a cleanly struck penalty kick in the seventh minute. There was no evidence of the team that had folded under pressure in their opener. The Gqeberha school was up for the challenge. Midway through the first half, a break on the blind side, and a delicious grubber off the outside of his boot by outside centre Reon Saaiman put left wing Jaco George into acres of space. He gratefully gathered possession and went over for the first try of the match to make it 8-0. Framesby continued to press hard, but Glenwood defended dourly, uncompromising in the face of the Eastern Cape side’s probing. With time up in the first half, Feltham had another crack from a penalty, just inside the Glenwood 10-metre line, but his kick was wide to the left. The Green Machine finally made it onto the scoreboard within three minutes of the restart, thanks to fullback Rosco Williams. He fielded a long clearance kick, cruised past the chasing Framesby players around halfway, with an inside break, then drew the last defender before releasing Lebohang Skosana to score. Vincenzo Loutz knocked over the conversion, and only one point separated the teams. The try appeared to imbue Glenwood with confidence, and a break by inside centre Jakub Bednar resulted in Andile Mbokazi going over, which was just reward for the hard-working No 6. Another Loutz conversion gave the Durban boys the lead for the first time at 14-8. Glenwood hooker Tyler Leon had the crowd on their feet when he charged clear, covering half the length of the field, but he was held up over the try line by a splendid and desperate tackle. Having escaped a potential hammer blow, Framesby worked their way up the field, and prop Handré Schnetler powered over from a quickly taken penalty to reduce the deficit to one point. Feltham slotted the conversion, and with that the Gqeberha side led 15-14. When Glenwood was awarded a penalty with eight minutes left, 44 metres out, but dead in front of the posts, Loutz had the distance but not the accuracy, and Framesby maintained their narrow lead. As time expired, the Green Machine launched a late attack, which eventually won them a penalty in a similar position to the one from which Loutz had missed a short while earlier. This time, his effort was slightly short and to the left, and Framesby heartily celebrated a morale-boosting win. In Thursday’s match, Westville showed intent early in their clash against Framesby when the jet-shoed Avumile Lisa sped clear for a long-range try to put the Griffins up 5-0 within the first few minutes. It was the start of an astonishing performance from the local side. Unbeaten at the festival in 2025, Westville were full of running and quickly began punching holes in the Gqeberha side’s defensive line. After a tight first half, Westville let loose. Framesby couldn’t hang with their speed, precision and execution, and ultimately saw the game taken away from them at 83-0. The Herald

“It wasn’t the sort of game that we were looking for a bonus point or needing to win by any sort of points difference.

“Upon reflection, I probably could’ve dropped into the pocket, but it’s easier said when things don’t go our way.

“I don’t want to make any comments on what I saw (about the disallowed late try), but I think we could have been a lot more fortunate with some of the calls towards the end.

“In the one maul I remember seeing JD Schickerling’s feet in the air when he was trying to get the ball to the back of the maul, whatever that means.

“Some people thought it was a try (at the end) and some people didn’t.

The under-performing Madibaz ended their season on a low note when they were crushed 68-10 by Wits in a one-sided Varsity Shield semifinal in Johannesburg on Friday. Wits, who have already clinched promotion to the Varsity Cup by ending at the top of the Varsity Shield log, will face WSU in the final, while Madibaz will remain trapped in the lower tier of varsity rugby in 2027. WSU secured their berth in the final when they produced a powerful second-half comeback to beat UWC 42-32 at Sisa Dukashe Stadium in East London on Friday. A rampant Wits side outscored the Gqeberha team by 12 tries to two in a dazzling display of adventurous attacking rugby. It was the second heavy defeat Wits inflicted on the Madibaz after they thrashed them 63-8 in a league clash in Gqeberha in March. Because it was Easter Friday, the Wits Rugby Stadium wasn’t at full capacity, but that didn’t dampen the spirits of the Wits Blues. Wits started like a house on fire and scored three cracking tries in the opening 20 minutes. Lian Terblanche got the ball rolling in the second minute after a couple of phases inside Madibaz’s 22 metre line. Soon afterwards, flyhalf Rekkie Gerber showed immense strength to shrug off several defenders and score before Liam Santos crossed over in the 17th minute. Madibaz finally responded through Corne Cloete after the strategy break However, that try was cancelled out by three scores by Lindani Dweba, hooker, Bonga Nxumalo and Santos. Wits led 36-5 at the break. The visitors struck first in the second stanza when prop AJ Flemming broke the line and ran 40 metres before offloading to Cloete who went in for his second try. That sparked the hosts back to life and they responded with two back-to-back tries by Nxumalo, and electric winger, Dustyn Holmes. It was a quiet period thereafter until Wits scored a whopping four tries in six minutes. Replacement winger, Oluwole Oluwatimileyen dotted over twice while skipper, Latica Nela also bagged a late brace. Scorers: Wits 68: Tries: Liam Santos (2), Lian Terblanche, Rekkie Gerber, Lindani Dweba, Bonga Nxumalo (2), Dustyn Holmes, Oluwole Oluwatimileyen (2) Latica Nela (2) Madibaz 10: Corne Cloete (2) Player of the Match: Liam Santos (Wits). - Additional reporting Varsity Media Follow The Herald WhatsApp channel today and stay connected to the stories shaping our world. The Herald

“I think we really got the game plan right. We got a lot of unforced errors out of them. We did well in the kicking game and any scraps that were on the floor.

“I think we can be proud of our performance. It’s not the result we want, obviously, but we won’t go out with our heads down.”

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