'They wanted it more' - Dobson admits Stormers were second best against Cardiff

The Stormers were comprehensively outplayed by their Welsh opponents on the night and looked tactically inept and ill-prepared for what was one of the most important games of the season, and now look certain to miss out on a top-two finish.

The game was even more important for Cardiff, however, who would have missed out on the playoffs entirely had they lost, and Dobson could do little but insist their opponents were more "desperate" on the night.

"A very disappointing performance," the Stormers coach said.

"I think we have to give Cardiff quite a lot of credit - they were desperate - and I'm sorry that their desperation meant more to them than our chance to host a series of playoffs in Cape Town.

"I thought their attack and defence was very good. They put us under pressure defensively, got yards on us, very clever attack, and they were just really desperate."

The Stormers once again wasted several try-scoring opportunities but as time went on, even the opportunities evaporated as they looked short of ideas.

"We had lots of areas of dominance and lots of opportunities that we probably wasted, very similar to last week," Dobson said.

"Failure to convert when we were five metres out and the fact that we didn't get a behaviour change there, is a problem for us."

A losing bonus point at least secured third place on the log and a home quarter-final in Cape Town, but Dobson and his coaching staff will be left wondering how that was all they managed to take from the season.

"We're going to have to regroup," he said. "We know what's in this group and we'll regroup quickly.

"We're a very bruised team who were beaten by the better team on the night and we'll have to do much better than this in the quarter-final." 

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