John Dobson apologises for Stormers player's action in URC semi-final

Stormers head coach John Dobson has apologised after replacement back-row Ruan Ackermann was sent off in his side’s United Rugby Championship semi-final defeat to Leinster, admitting the incident is something the game “has got to get rid of”.

Leinster held on to book a return to the URC Grand Final with a hard-fought 20-11 win at the Aviva Stadium, but the contest pivoted on a decisive second-half flashpoint that swung momentum firmly in favour of the hosts.

Ackermann, introduced from the bench, was initially shown a yellow card by referee Hollie Davidson for a tucked shoulder to the head of Leinster hooker Ronan Kelleher. Following a bunker review, the sanction was upgraded to a red card, leaving the Stormers a man down at a critical stage of the match.

Dobson did not attempt to defend the incident in his post-match assessment and revealed he had personally apologised to Leinster head coach Leo Cullen.

“I really apologise for the first one,” said Dobson.

“That’s where you have to get rid of that in rugby. Tucked shoulder to the head. You know, because then guys aren’t getting a jackal. My only thing to Leo [Cullen] was to say sorry for that.”

The dismissal proved a significant turning point in a fiercely contested encounter, during which Leinster had initially surged into a 13-0 lead through a Rieko Ioane try, along with the boot of Sam Prendergast.

Stormers fought their way back into the game. Andre Smith crashed over from close range before Jurie Matthee added a penalty to bring the visitors back within striking distance.

Despite losing Leolin Zas to the sin-bin during that period, the South African side continued to grow into the contest after the break. Another Matthee penalty cut the gap to two points, with Dobson sensing vulnerability in the Leinster ranks.

“I thought up until the card we were in it,” he said.

“I thought we could see some cracks starting, maybe physically, in Leinster. I think a big, big, big moment was getting into their 22, but we didn’t often do that in the second half.

“I’ve been there before. If we’d converted there, I think we’d have had a reason to believe we could put them under pressure because I could see them looking a little bit tired.”

However, Ackermann’s red card halted that momentum, and further indiscipline compounded Stormers’ problems. Captain Salmaan Moerat was later sin-binned for cynical play after knocking the ball from Jamison Gibson-Park’s hands with an errant foot.

The Leinster scrum-half reacted quickest, regathering to score under the posts nine minutes from time, effectively sealing the result in what had become an increasingly ill-tempered contest — one that even saw a scuffle break out in the tunnel at half-time.

Dobson also raised questions over the second card shown to his side, although he admitted he needed to review the incident in more detail before forming a firm view.

“The second card [sic: third, Moerat’s] I didn’t quite understand, but I really wanted to watch it live,” he said.

The Stormers coach acknowledged that discipline had been a key message at the break, but one his players ultimately failed to execute under pressure.

“I said to the guys at half-time that we won’t win this game if we don’t stay with 15 men on the field,” he added.

“Some of the errors put us under pressure. We didn’t manage the power play properly but we were under pressure. When someone is not rolling away, we’re under pressure there.”

Despite the setbacks, Dobson insisted his side never lost belief and felt they still had a chance late in the contest before Leinster’s decisive score.

“At 68 minutes we dared to dream,” he said.