Unbeaten Stormers eye Zebre after dominant Scarlets win, but discipline still a concern

While the Stormers started their opening overseas tour of the United Rugby Championship (URC) in fine fashion, they will have to be careful about getting overconfident ahead of their Italian job starting this weekend.

The Cape side blanked a second team this past Friday, scoring a 34-0 victory over the Scarlets in Llanelli and are one of three unbeaten teams in the tournament. After the Bulls’ loss on Saturday, they are at the top of the URC log thanks to a significant points difference.

A duel against Zebre awaits in Parma, and after the Italian club already toppled one South African side – the Lions – the inaugural champions will be wary of them. They also need to remain on top of their game as their final tour match against Benetton in two weeks will be the toughest challenge.

John Dobson, director of rugby, was pleased with the victory, but injuries to key players overshadowed it. Veteran Deon Fourie headed home on Saturday, while the first-choice tighthead Sazi Sande is also likely to miss at least the Zebre encounter.

He also wants to see them sharpen up their discipline ahead of the next two matches. They received two yellow cards and a host of penalties that could’ve been avoided. While those penalties didn’t have an impact on the scoreline, further down the line, they could become costly ones if they keep transgressing.

“The biggest concern (from the match) was our discipline,” Dobson said.

“Not the discipline in terms of sticking to the plan and on defence, that was wonderful. But the obvious ones, like the two yellow cards, getting a penalty reversed. That was really poor. It is important for the guys to understand that this template of playing works.

“This gives us more belief that we can win away and do so properly. It sets us up nicely for the rest of the tour.”

Dobson praised the defensive effort of the side. They have only conceded 10 points in their first three games, keeping defending champions Leinster and the Scarlets from scoring points.

The pressure will now be on them to try to replicate this performance against Zebre; however, Dobson would want to see his team be more ruthless when it comes to finishing off the opportunities they create. Yes, the team scored a bonus-point victory, but they kept the Scarlets in the game for most of the first half.

“Right to the end, the boys kept defending like we were on our try-line. They were chasing kicks, and that was special. It is something you can’t coach. Credit must also go to Norman (Laker, defence coach) for how he tweaked the defence and Rito (Hlungwane, forwards coach) for the way he has the maul going.

“We would love to get our attack going, but the focus is to win on this tour.

"As we put teams into cycles, we will create more opportunities for ourselves. We didn’t do that against the Scarlets. We can still tweak a few things with the ball in hand,” Dobson confirmed.