Dobson: Willemse injury a 'massive blow'

10/26/2024 01:11 PM

John Dobson lamented the loss of Damian Willemse to injury while conceding the DHL Stormers are “up against it” after the loss to Glasgow Warriors in Stellenbosch.

The Stormers went down 28-17 to Glasgow Warriors on Saturday in a challenging game under the Stellenbosch sun.

Despite Manie Libbok’s penalty giving the hosts a 17-14 lead going into the final 15 minutes, the defending champions pulled away with two late tries.

Willemse, who started the season in inspired form, scoring 14 points in last week’s win against Munster, limped off shortly after dotting down the Stormers’ only try in the first half.

The playmaker appeared to suffer a groin injury, which has thrown into doubt his Springbok comeback on the November tour of the UK.

Speaking after the match, Dobson said that Willemse and fellow Bok Ben-Jason Dixon, who also cried off in the first half, had gone for scans to determine the extent of their injuries.

"Losing Damian was a big blow for our plans around this game. It was a massive blow," Dobson said.

“Losing two Springboks in the first half was a concern, playing against a team with 17 internationals.”

Dobson opted to shuffle his backline for the clash, with Libbok returning to the No 10 jersey, causing Willemse to shift to inside centre, captain Dan du Plessis to outside centre and Ruhan Nel to the wing.

"That wasn't the reason we lost. We can look at ourselves individually around how well we played within that structure,” Dobson said.

“The lesson for me as a coach is that we tried to get some energy on the field, because we wanted to blow it open, but at the end we had nothing left. We were trying to chase it with 14 men, which was tough.

“I don't feel the structure was the problem, how we individually operated within it was more my concern. As a team, we could've worked harder.

"Glasgow deserved to win.  They are a good team, well organised and we were patchy.”

The Stormers head into the four-week international break and will return to action in a coastal derby against the Sharks in Durban on 30 November.

“That will be a massive game for us,” Dobson said. “We are up against it now. Today would have been important for the log and our morale going into the break.

“We know we aren't the biggest chequebook team in the league, but we pride ourselves on exceeding the sum of our parts. I'm not sure we did that today."

Photo: Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images

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