Having provided the perfect response to those who had written them off, the DHL Stormers now have their sights firmly set on a top four finish in the Vodacom URC.
It’s been something of a rollercoaster ride for the Cape Town-based side so far this season.
They won their first ten matches in all competitions, but then lost four of the next five, including three successive league defeats to drop down the table.
As such, they were the underdogs when they travelled to Pretoria last weekend to take on a Vodacom Bulls side that had won four games on the bounce.
But John Dobson’s team proceeded to rip up the form book as they secured a 32-19 bonus point victory at Loftus Versfeld to move back up to second spot.
Now they head into a run of four home games in the Vodacom URC – against Dragons RFC, Edinburgh Rugby, Connacht Rugby and Glasgow Warriors – with belief restored.
“It’s so emotional rugby,” said Dobson.
“Just a month or so ago, one of the other coaches in the Vodacom URC said we were the form team in the world.
“We were a team that was unbeaten, there was a lot of hype.
“Then (after the defeats), it was what’s wrong with the Stormers, where are they going?
“We had a lot of doubt, a lot of questions, when you think about the noise around some of our players and that sort of thing. We were under a lot of pressure.
“Nobody gave us a chance against the Bulls. It’s sometimes good like that, especially when you go to a place like Loftus.
“It did help that people had written us off because we knew better than that.
“It’s true what they say. You are never as good as they say you are and you are never as bad as they say you are.”
Things didn’t start too well for the Stormers in Pretoria as they conceded the first score and found themselves down to 13 men after having two players yellow carded in the opening quarter.
But they weathered the storm and scored three second half tries to pull away and pick up maximum points.
“It was probably our most important win and our most dominant performance up there,” said Dobson.
“Our discipline was much better both in terms of the penalties conceded and how we applied ourselves.
“It was a big win for us because it’s not an average Bulls team, not a Bulls team in crisis.
“It’s a really good Bulls team – well led, well organised, a proper team with momentum and real class.”
Director of Rugby Dobson feels it was a pivotal result in terms of the Stormers’ play-off hopes.
“It’s massive. We can realistically think about the top four and a home quarter-final now,” he said.
“Teams don’t lose quarter-finals at home, not the Bulls, not us. That’s what our goal is now.
“If we hadn’t got that win on the weekend, it was out, I think. It’s still alive now.
“There were a lot of questions out there for us, but the belief is back in the changing room now.
“We’ve got a run of home games which we’d like to win all of them.”
Adding his thoughts, skipper Ruan Nel said: “After the three losses, our leadership group got together and had a long intense session.
“We had drifted away from the basics. It wasn’t broken, but it was just loose. There were just a couple of things we had to sharpen up.”
Reflecting on the four-try win at Loftus, he said: “The Bulls have got so many attacking threats. We were basically playing against a Springbok back line.
“I thought the patience we showed when we had 13 on the field was really great, it was exceptional. It’s a sign of maturity. The guys controlled that brilliantly.
“I was just really so proud. The way we stuck to our plan and continued to put pressure back on them, even with just 13 men on the field, was a true testament to our character and the hard work we have been putting in.”
