Stormers pay heavy price for misfiring lineout, says Dobson

A misfiring lineout was at the heart of the Stormers' problems when they crashed to a 17-13 defeat against Edinburgh in a second-round United Rugby Championship clash in Scotland on Friday, said coach John Dobson.

The Cape side lost a staggering 11 lineouts, which denied them an opportunity to apply pressure against the Scottish outfit at a blustery Hive Stadium.

A disappointed Dobson has vowed that his stuttering side would fix their malfunctioning lineout ahead of a crunch clash against the Sharks at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday (kickoff 4pm) .

"From our side, we don’t have to look too much beyond our performance in the lineout," he said.

"We lost 11, and you can’t win a game if your plan in those conditions is based around the maul.

“You’re just giving up possession, which is devastating with the wind and into the wind.

"So, very disappointing, given our plan for the game.

“The conditions took us by surprise because the weather has been so good.

"It stopped raining, but there was a strong wind that we went into in the first half.

“Despite the lost lineouts, we were only 3-0 down at halftime, and then we got the lead.

"Then there were one or two poor moments of discipline at the breakdown, and they converted every opportunity they got.”

A try from Hacjivah Dayimani and eight points from the boot of Yaqeen Ahmed had kept the Stormers in the game, and they had a chance to steal victory at the death, but the hosts stole their lineout.

A turning point for the Stormers came when they lost hooker André-Hugo Venter midway through the first half after a failed head injury assessment.

“The loss of André-Hugo was a big loss, not just lineout-wise, but he’s one of our best players,” Dobson said.

“It was frustrating that he wasn’t allowed to return to the field, but that’s the protocol, so we have to respect that.

“I suppose we take six points from the tour (after an opening win over Connacht) , but this is a game we probably should have won.

“We’re super excited for Saturday's game against the Sharks in Cape Town.

“Our squad will look different and it will be a big occasion. We’ll be much better than we were against Edinburgh and we’ll fix the lineouts.”

Edinburgh coach Sean Everitt paid tribute to his flank Liam McConnell for disrupting the Stormers' lineout.

“We knew that we had a chance if we were able to contain the Stormers’ set-piece,” he said.

“Liam McConnell contesting the lineout was world-class, and we prepared really well for that during the week," he said.

“I think at the end of the day that got us over the line, with that last lineout, disrupting that and then winning the scrap.

“So, yes, very proud of the boys tonight.

" I thought our boys stood up well and showed a lot of fight.

“I think what makes me happy is that 22 of the 23 did the full pre-season with us, and they’re getting a reward for their efforts.

“There’s been a lot of improvement made in the team.

"I know we weren’t as slick as we were last weekend when we beat Ulster, but the weather didn’t allow that either.”

Scorers:

Edinburgh 17: Tries: Paul Hill and Rory McHaffie. Conversions: James Grayson (2). Penalty: Grayson

Stormers 13: Try: Hacjivah Dayimani. Conversion: Yaqeen Ahmed. Penalties: Ahmed (2)

Other URC scores: Lions 35 Ospreys 19, Sharks 26 Leinster 20, Munster 26 Bulls 22

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