‘Next week’s a big week,’ says Dayimani, as Stormers look ahead after Edinburgh defeat

Stormers hybrid star Hacjivah Dayimani put in an action-packed effort for his team that earned him the Player of the Match award, but it wasn’t enough to stop them from suffering a tight defeat against Edinburgh in Scotland on Friday night.

The fact that Dayimani received the award, despite the Stormers ending as the losing side, showed how well he played, while the rest of their team largely struggled in difficult, blustery conditions.

The loss meant the Stormers left the UK with one win from their opening two United Rugby Championship (URC) tour games. They were set to return to South Africa with six points after they clinched a bonus-point win in their opener over Connacht in Galway a week earlier.

It wasn’t a bad haul from their first two away games, but the Stormers will know that it was an opportunity missed, as despite a misfiring lineout and numerous errors, they still ran their Scottish hosts close and could have even stolen a win at the death.

‘It was very tough’

Speaking after the match, Dayimani praised the efforts of his team, but he admitted they had to be better and would need to step up next weekend in their first home match of the season in a huge coastal derby against the Sharks.

“It (the match) was very tough, the boys really wanted the win. But I am very proud of the boys, especially Vernon Paulo who had to step up with Andre-Hugo (Venter) coming off (with concussion in the first half),” said Dayimani.

“It’s a game of inches. The weather was a bit bad in the beginning and obviously we had to adapt. We couldn’t play as much running rugby and had to kick more. We got close but we just ran out of time.

“So it was a disappointing ending and we obviously expect more from the boys, but next week is a big week (against the Sharks in Cape Town) and we need to step up.”

Looking ahead

Asked what can be expected from the Stormers over the rest of their URC campaign, Dayimani said they were building something special.

“We definitely have more to give. We are trying to build depth, we are trying to build two teams, so you will see more guys coming in and it’s obviously very important for those guys to step in and show that we are all in this together,” added Dayimani.

The Stormers now enjoy a run of four straight home games, three in the URC and one in the Champions Cup over the next month, and they will need to try and win them all to put them in a good position.