There is always massive risk in going for a six/two split between forwards and backs on the bench, particularly if one of the two backline players you do select can’t play flyhalf, and DHL Stormers director of rugby John Dobson is known for his straight talking and refreshing honesty.
So it wasn’t surprising to hear him after the 36-12 Vodacom United Rugby Championship defeat to runaway log leaders Leinster on Saturday night blame himself for one of the key elements in that defeat. Anyone who knows two cents about rugby knew the Stormers were in grave trouble when Manie Libbok limped off two minutes before halftime.
Not only was there no flyhalf back up on the bench, there was also no trusted back up place kicker. And when at the end of the game, by which time the contest had long since been lost by the Stormers, Evan Roos scored his team’s second try, Warrick Gelant’s conversion effort summed up how tough it would have been had the game gone in a direction where he would have been relied upon.
The Stormers had struggled to get into the game initially, in part due to the Irish referee Eoghan Cross, who was called in to officiate when the initial Scottish referee was prevented by stormy weather from traveling, yet they had come back into it when Libbok left the field. They were down by just three points, 10-7, and halftime was pretty much steaming into the station.
It would have been a severe psychological blow to the rest of the Stormers players to see their playmaker and their only recognised place-kicker leave the field. In addition to the psychological aspect, it would also have impacted on the defensive organisation, with inside centre Jonathan Roche appearing to shift inside for defensive set-ups.
Given those two things, it may then not have been coincidental that immediately after Libbok’s departure, from a set piece set up by a dubious scrum penalty awarded against the Stormers, the hosts launched a set play attack that exploited the Stormers’ defensive confusion to put hooker Dan Sheehan over in the corner.
From being a close game, Leinster were suddenly more than a score ahead, and the Stormers were never in the contest after that.
“You’ve got a world-class flyhalf and you’re 10-7 down away and he goes off. That was a huge blow and I must take responsibility for not having another flyhalf on the bench,” said Dobson post-match.
“We went for a six/two bench, and that gamble backfired badly for us. It was a big loss,” he added.
BIG RISK
It was, but some perspective is needed before everyone blames Dobson. Those who watched Chasing the Sun 2 and lapped up everything from that as an indication that a Bomb Squad split, in that case being the extreme 7/1 split chosen for the 2023 World Cup final, is genius thinking and should be applied by everyone as a lesson on how it can be done, aren't seeing the full picture.
What if Faf de Klerk had been forced off in the first minute of that final, leaving Cheslin Kolbe as the scrumhalf for almost the entire game? Everyone loves to assume it would have worked, but it might not have, in which case the architects of that plan would not have ended up being geniuses but chumps.
As it was, losing the only specialist hooker, Bongi Mbonambi, early in the game nearly backfired on the Boks. Deon Fourie did more than his fair share around the field, and led the team in the final minutes, but the occasional lineout malfunctions were probably the main reason the All Blacks were able to lose by just one point after being down to 14 men for more than half the game.
So Dobson’s admission of culpability is not reason for disappointed supporters to turn on him, although if Jurie Matthee wasn’t injured, it does beggar belief that he wasn’t on the bench. Hindsight being a perfect science, of course!
Dobson’s most immediate concern now should be Libbok’s fitness and readiness to play in the games going forward, starting with the big derby against the Bulls in Cape Town on 8 February.
Manie Libbok is forced off early in Dublin 🤕
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) January 25, 2025
Wandisile Simelane replaces him so the DHL Stormers are going to switch it up 🔁
📺 Stream #VURC on DStv: https://t.co/0P0NNhnwKw pic.twitter.com/2Doma3hnol
“We don’t know how serious it is yet,” said Dobson.
Fortunately for the Stormers it didn’t look to bad as Libbok continued to play for a while after sustaining the knock to his knee that eventually forced him off.
Frans Malherbe didn’t take up position on the bench because of an illness on the morning of the game and should be ready to play the Bulls, but there may be concern over star lock JD Schickerling, who was another Stormers player injured in the first half in Dublin.
“It’s something to do with his AC joint,” Dobson said. “I don’t know how serious it is.”