PJ Botha of the Lions tackles Evan Roos during their United Rugby Championship clash on Saturday. Photo: BackpagePix
The Stormers' next three games away from home will likely determine their survival in the United Rugby Championship (URC).
Warrick does it all on his own. #LIOvSTO @Vodacom #URC #OriginRound pic.twitter.com/3Pv9VUxqMW
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) February 15, 2025
After going down 30-23 to a rampant attacking Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday, the return North vs South derby against the Bulls on 1 March at Loftus Versfeld becomes crucial to win.
While they are still within reach of the playoffs, the losing streak they are currently on does not spell well for their ambitions of breaking into the top eight of the tournament.
After the clash with the Bulls in two weeks, they travel to Scarlets in Wales (21 March) and Ulster in Ireland (28 March) for their final touring campaign matches.
“Not winning against the Lions puts us in a position where we must win two of the next three matches.”
“Not winning against the Lions puts us in a position where we must win two of the next three matches,” Stormers director of rugby John Dobson said.
“Pretoria becomes a must-win, but that is easier said than done. Our European record is poor and Loftus is a tough place to play.”
Dobson lamented his team's error rate against the Lions.
For the second weekend in a row, they fought back from being down at halftime. But this time, they left themselves too much to do and could not catch up to the Lions.
All systems go! #LIOvSTO @Vodacom #URC #OriginRound pic.twitter.com/6JbqonuOXl
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) February 15, 2025
When the teams turned at 24-6, you had a sense that the game was in the bag for the home side.
While they picked up a first-ever URC win at Ellis Park over the Cape outfit, the defence of Dobson's men in the second half was brilliant. They restricted the Lions to only six points after conceding three first-half tries.
The injuries keeping key playmakers like Manie Libbok and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu on the sidelines hampered them again. Fullback Warrick Gelant was the only real threat on the attack, while outside centre Ruhan Nel's defensive organisation was also missed heavily when the Lions were running rampant.
“We were too loose with the ball against a side brilliant with their transition and turnover play.”
“We were too loose with the ball against a side brilliant with their transition and turnover play. The positive side would be our effort and the counter to that is our inaccuracies.
“We can't blame the conditions for our inaccuracy because the Lions were far more accurate than us at the breakdown. The way they stripped the balls in the tackles and their physical commitment were amazing. They fought and defended exceptionally.
“They didn't want to go away even when with our 22-metre entries on the attack. It's a credit to them I suppose.”
“They didn't want to go away even when with our 22-metre entries on the attack. It's a credit to them I suppose. That was also some really good maul defence by the Lions. We got no yards on them and had some nice plans around the rolling mauls.”
After a second successive local derby loss, and their fourth on the trot, the Stormers will have to find a way to turn their fortunes around and quickly.
If they are not successful in the next couple of away clashes, starting with the Bulls next month, their season could be over by the time they play in front of their supporters again in April.
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