Care, love and friendship: The 'never say die' attitude that defines the Stormers

When they went down 7-0 inside the opening three minutes of Saturday's United Rugby Championship final against the Bulls, Stormers fans could have been forgiven for fearing the worst.

The Bulls may have been the visiting team, but many believed they entered the match as favourites under the tutelage of the tactical mastermind that is Jake White.

Those fears would have been further heightened by the performance the Stormers dished up for the bulk of the first half, where their handling was particularly poor.

At half-time, the hosts had just about held on but were still 7-3 down.

The second half, however, produced a vastly improved showing as the Stormers bossed all departments in front of 31 000 screaming fans at Cape Town Stadium to emerge 18-13 winners.

Speaking after the match, skipper Steven Kitshoff said that ability to find a way back into matches when things were not going well had become a hallmark of the Stormers this season.

"That never say die attitude is one of the special characteristics of this team," he said.

"As soon as there is a bit of care, love and great friendships, then guys are willing to go the extra mile for each other.

"It has a lot to do with Dobbo [coach John Dobson] and the team socials he has put on where guys have bonded, but there is a true friendship among each other in the team.

"You can see it on the pitch, but you can also see it training during the week where guys genuinely care for each other. That spill over into the game and when times get tough, you will see guys doing extra to make sure the team gets the result."

Dobson, meanwhile, said he used his half-time team talk to praise his players for staying in the contest despite how poorly they had played.

"At half-time I gave them credit