DHL Stormers director of rugby John Dobson admitted to making a tactical error by not having a back-up fly-half on the bench during their 36-12 defeat to Leinster. The absence of a fly-half replacement proved costly when Manie Libbok limped off with a knee injury just before halftime. Dobson acknowledged the severity of the situation and stressed the importance of having a contingency plan for such scenarios.
There is always massive risk in going for a six/two split between forwards and backs on the bench, particularly if one of the two backline players you do select can’t play flyhalf, and DHL Stormers director of rugby John Dobson is known for his straight talking and refreshing honesty.
The Stormers had struggled to get into the game initially, in part due to the Irish referee Eoghan Cross, who was called in to officiate when the initial Scottish referee was prevented by stormy weather from traveling, yet they had come back into it when Libbok left the field. They were down by just three points, 10-7, and halftime was pretty much steaming into the station.
From being a close game, Leinster were suddenly more than a score ahead, and the Stormers were never in the contest after that. What if Faf de Klerk had been forced off in the first minute of that final, leaving Cheslin Kolbe as the scrumhalf for almost the entire game? Everyone loves to assume it would have worked, but it might not have, in which case the architects of that plan would not have ended up being geniuses but chumps.
RUGBY Stormers Leinster John Dobson Manie Libbok Injuries
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