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- Stormers coach John Dobson feels they should have beaten Munster in Saturday's United Rugby Championship encounter.
- Instead, the Stormers lost 26-24, dropping their first home game since December 2021.
- The loss also saw the Stormers drop to third and out of home semi-final contention should they get there.
Stormers coach John Dobson admitted they needed to win Saturday's United Rugby Championship clash against Munster.
Having trailed 12-0 at some point, the Stormers pulled the game back to 12-12 at half-time but ended up losing 26-24.
That loss, coupled with Ulster's 40-19 home win against the Dragons on Friday, meant the Belfast-based side moved to second place with 64 points to the Stormers' 63.
In his post-match press conference, Dobson wasn't keen on talking about permutations, preferring to worry about Friday's game against Benetton where they'll be wrapping up their regular season fixtures.
Ulster are favourites to beat Edinburgh handily which would secure second spot ahead of the Stormers.
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The Stormers are at least guaranteed a home quarter-final.
"We had to win this game and that was the bottom line. That's why we're so disappointed," Dobson said.
"We were proud of the record and maybe we have that bogey off our backs now, but in terms of getting that draw for the home semi, to rely on Edinburgh now, I don't think those two points will make a difference.
"If Ulster win without a bonus point and we beat Benetton by plenty, we're now wondering down a rabbit hole.
"We need to play as best as we can on Friday and we know we have a home quarter-final, but it's disappointing to know that we were close to hosting a home semi-final.
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"Whoever we play in the quarter-finals, it's going to be a tough game because the middle section of the playoffs is going to be tough."
The loss may be the Stormers' second consecutive one after the Champions Cup last eight defeat to Exeter, but Dobson sees that demise as a blessing in disguise.
A Champions Cup semi-final away to defending champions La Rochelle on 30 April was going to be followed by a URC quarter-final the following weekend.
South African teams have had trouble getting to their European destinations this season and the last thing Dobson wanted was back-to-back playoffs mixed with travel fatigue.
Dobson has never been short of ambition, but felt missing out on the Champions Cup semi-finals also allowed them the necessary rest period to ease in their returning players.
"You can't play at this level with only two training days in a week as we did recently," Dobson said.
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"That's where you miss details like maul defence, and with some of the guys coming back, it's important that we get that extra week.
"However, we're also grateful that we're not going to La Rochelle via all the different airports because we'd be in trouble for the quarter-finals.
"The returnees will bolster us, and we haven't got any serious injuries to worry about and once we get through Benetton, we should be in a good position to play the quarter-final."
The Stormers v Benetton clash will be played at the Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch on Friday (18:30 kick-off).
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