Dobson: Du Plessis injury hurt us
07/14/2024 12:51 AM
John Dobson said the plan to stop the Cheetahs in Bloem on Saturday was shredded when DHL Western Province lost playmaker Jean-Luc du Plessis to an injury in the first half.
With the teams deadlocked 10-10 at half time, the defending Currie Cup champions overpowered WP in the second 40 minutes to secure a 37-17 victory at Free State Stadium.
Province opened the scoring with a well-executed try from Du Plessis in the third minute, and CJ Velleman barged over from close range for a converted try as the Capetonians closed the gap with 15 minutes left to play.
However, Free State replacement hooker Vernon Paulo twice crossed the whitewash to cap off a five-try win for the 2-0 Cheetahs.
Next up, winless WP hit the road to battle Griffons in Welkom in round 3.
Speaking post-match on Saturday, Dobson told reporters: "For some reason, in those first 15 minutes after half time the Cheetahs got on top of us in the scrums and we stopped working and we fell apart a bit.
“It went from 10-10 to 10-27 in 20 minutes, so it was a bit frustrating there."
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Du Plessis' second try in as many matches helped give WP the early momentum, and Dobson lamented the loss of the veteran playmaker to injury before the break.
“I'm not sure he would've saved the game on his own because the Cheetahs played well, but Jean-Luc is a leader and key for our defence and our kicking game," the Stormers director of rugby said.
"We had this plan around the kicking game, with [flyhalf] Jurie Matthee and JL… We aren't dependent on one guy but he was a huge loss."
"We did well to stick to the plan in the first half because we knew it was going to be tough in the first 20 minutes," said captain Willie Engelbrecht.
"We hung in there, and at half time we felt good. We got quite a few penalties and our scrums were strong, but we then gave away silly possession at lineout time, and then everything just fell apart.
"It's small things. Certain players, and I include myself, need to go back and look at themselves. We will take time out to focus on doing our individual jobs well, and then come together as a team."
Photo: Johan Pretorius/Gallo Images
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