Stormers captain, coach left frustrated by referee after Connacht loss

Cape Town - One would think that the Stormers’ first clash against Connacht in Galway would deliver lots to talk about, but it turns out that the only match-related topic doing the rounds is the officiating – again.

The Stormers lost 19-17 to the Irish side at the Sportsground on Saturday, and while there were a number of factors that could be highlighted – like Damian Willemse’s standout display at inside centre, the Cape side’s mauling metres, their stunning defence in the first half, the weather conditions, and so on – it was the poor referee’s poor performance that stole the show.

Scotsman Ben Blair was the man in the middle, and while Stormers coach John Dobson and captain Steven Kitshoff didn’t criticise the official, they were left frustrated.

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Dobson compared their experience in Galway to their introduction to the United Rugby Championship.

“It felt like that last tour when we were here and adapting to a slightly different realm, especially around the scrum and the maul,” Dobson said.

While Connacht were penalised only a handful of times, the Stormers were dealt a very different hand. They also received two yellow cards to Sergeal Petersen and Ruhan Nel in the second half, with Connacht scoring on both occasions.

“The penalty count was a concern, and we’ll have to have a look at it,” Dobson said.

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“The jump from local derbies to a northern hemisphere game was always going to require a certain level of adaptation, and maybe we weren’t fast enough or sharp enough.

“Cross-playing will help. When they come down to us, we can try to get these