Fleck not blaming red card for defeat
Zas was given his marching orders in the 56th after minute after he took out Waratahs' flyhalf Bernard Foley in their air.
Despite going down to 14 men, the Stormers were on course for victory after a Pieter-Steph du Toit score before Waratahs' captain Michael Hooper scored a try in the 78th minute after turning the ball over at a Stormers' scrum to take the game away from the Cape side.
"It [red card] did not cost us the game," said Fleck after the game.
"It was clear that we were in it to win at the end we and probably deserved to.
"Credit to the Waratahs, who kept fighting and got that try at the end. Our boys did extremely well to play with 14 men and to get back in the lead.
"Safety is first in the game. He [Foley] landed in an awkward position and technically it was probably the right call."
In a similar incident last week, Jason Emery of the Highlanders made contact with Willie le Roux's (Sharks) legs, which caused him to land in a dangerous fashion. After consultation with the TMO, the referee awarded a red card.
Emery was subsequently suspended for four weeks after a Judicial Hearing.
However, Fleck is hoping that Zas gets a lighter suspension.
"I think they will take into account that he [Zas] did slip and they might call it reckless, but there was no intent. The law is the law and it is just the way he landed," Fleck added.
Despite the loss, the Stormers played some of their best rugby this season against the Waratahs and Fleck feels that it was mistakes in defence that ultimately cost them in the end.
"Two soft moments on defence [in the first half] let them back in, which obviously got their tails up.
"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 that two tries.
"I'm just really proud with the way the guys fought for that 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," Fleck added.
The Waratahs' match-winning try stemmed from a Stormers' scrum five metres out from the host's tryline and Fleck feels that his team lost the ball because they did not deal with the pressure that was applied by the visitors at the set piece.
"We knew that the pressure was going to come on and certainly the scrums… I guess the lesson learnt there was that we should have just cleared it immediately," said Fleck.
By Warren Fortune
@FortuneWarren
@rugby365com
