Rugby

Dobson: Ox was magnificent

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Man of the Match Ox Nche of the Sharks

A relieved John Dobson applauded the Stormers’ resilience to salvage a draw at Kings Park on Saturday and he singled out Sharks battle tank Ox Nche for special praise.

Highlights: Penalty tries rescue Stormers in Sharks stalemate

The Stormers scored three second-half tries, two of those penalty tries, to come from a 16-point deficit and hold the Sharks to a 22-22 stalemate in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship at Kings Park.

It was hardly a glittering performance from the Cape side, especially when compared to their victory over the Bulls at fortress Loftus Versfeld the previous week.

Speaking after the match, Dobson was frank about the performance.

“To be honest, I thought we were dead and buried,” Dobson said. “It’s clear this team is very resilient.

“I think we finished on 18 penalties, seven scrum penalties, you have to go back to another era to find when Western Province or the Stormers gave away that number of scrum penalties. [The comeback] was Lazarus-like.”

Following the loss against the Lions in Cape Town last December, the Stormers have now collected seven points on the road.

“It’s really good,” Dobson said on their away results. “Especially since we played as poorly as we did tonight. If you look at the process, it is probably our worst performance on the URC. To get what we got tonight, we are really happy.”

The Stormers will host the Sharks in Cape Town next weekend and one immediate area of concern will be the scrums, as 23-year-old tighthead Sazi Sandi had a difficult evening against Sharks and Springbok loosehead Ox Nche.

“We knew the Sharks had a great front row. We knew we were playing with a very young tighthead,” Dobson said. “Sazi did really well last week against the Bulls. Ox is one of the better looseheads in international rugby at the moment.

“It’s good for Sazi’s journey, he will learn from this. I have got no doubt this will not happen again next week.

“I thought Ox was absolutely magnificent. The growth in that player is incredible, because we don’t have a bad front row.”

Dobson added that he doesn’t expect to have any immediate reinforcements available at tighthead prop for next Saturday’s clash.

“I don’t think Neethling Fouche will be available. The phyisos like having players running for weeks before they return to play. There may be case for a conversation. But I though Brok Harris did really well when he came on.”

Meanwhile, Sharks coach Sean Everitt was frustrated with the way his side handled the final 10 minutes of the match.

“We did everything right for 71 minutes and then threw it away towards the end,” Everitt admitted.

“We have now learned in the competition that small mistakes can cost you dearly. Our kicking to the posts and discipline let us down.”

Photo: Gerhard Duraan/BackpagePix