Stormers back Libbok to bounce back after kicking horror show: 'He can come right at any time'

The Stormers brains trust won't be too hard on flyhalf Manie Libbok after his goal-kicking horror show against Munster on Saturday night.

That was the message from coach John Dobson and captain Steven Kitshoff after the Stormers went down 26-24 to Munster at Cape Town Stadium.

The Stormers now sit third on the overall URC standings - one point behind Ulster with a final round of regular season fixtures remaining.

MATCH REPORT | Wasteful Stormers go down to Munster, drop to third on URC standings

The Stormers face Italian side Benetton in Stellenbosch next Friday and will hope Ulster slip up at home against Edinburgh later that evening.

Both teams are vying for second spot on the log as it will assure a home semi-final if they advance past the quarter-finals.

If they had beaten Munster, the Stormers' fate would have been in their own hands, but an error-prone performance saw them lose at home for the first time since December 2021.

The Capetonians had notched 19 straight wins at home since losing to the Lions about a year and a half ago.

Libbok's goal-kicking proved vital as the Stormers No 10 missed no fewer than five kicks at goal. Four of those kicks were relatively straightforward and Libbok's confidence appeared shot at the end of the game.

In the post-game press conference, Kitshoff said the goal kicking issue was a tough conversion to have with his flyhalf.

"It's difficult to be honest. I think he knows it's his job... my job is to scrum and set mauls and his job is to kick to posts. So, it's difficult to just try and boost his confidence, ask him to work a bit harder with Gareth (Wright, kicking coach) … to almost try and sort out and find a solution for his kicking.

"But to actually hammer down onto him is probably not the