Fleck proud of DHL Stormers’ spirit

While disappointed with their 32-30 loss to the Waratahs, DHL Stormers Head Coach took encouragement from the character his team showed under pressure.

After being reduced to 14 men for the last 20 minutes of the match when wing Leolin Zas was shown a red card, the DHL Stormers showed great fighting spirit to put themselves in a winning position, only to be left disappointed when a late try from Waratahs captain Michael Hooper snatched the victory from their grasp.

Despite his disappointment with the defeat, Fleck said that the fighting spirit his side showed under great pressure was something to be proud of.

“We are all gutted and disappointed, but the character and fight that we showed and the ability to score a try like that with only 14 men shows that we are on the right track.

“We are working towards something special and we are going to keep working hard for that.

“I’m just really proud with the way the guys fought hard for those 20 minutes and still be in a position with three minute to go to win it. I am proud of the character of the team. I am proud of the way we are playing rugby at the moment,” he said.

The DHL Stormers coach said that his team played some of their best rugby of the season in the first half, although there were some costly defensive lapses.

“It was a dominant performance in that first half and I would like to think we played well enough in that second half to win it.

“The team rallied together and played some very good rugby and we would have liked to have a few more points in that first half, but it was not to be and they are a good side and they showed their quality when they came back with those two tries.

“Two soft moments on defence [in the first half] let them back in, which obviously got their tails up,” he added.