Cape Town - A possible second successive United Rugby Championship (URC) title is unlikely to sway John Dobson from leaving his beloved Stormers and putting his name into the hat for the Springbok job next year.
The Cape side advanced to the United Rugby Championship final once more following a 43-25 semi-final victory over Connacht last weekend, and they will take on Munster in the May 27 title decider at the Cape Town Stadium.
Apart from the success of the team, the kind of rugby that the Stormers are playing have not only captured the imagination of the public – there were over 47 000 spectators at the match last Saturday – but also put Dobson in the spotlight as a possible replacement for Jacques Nienaber as the Bok head coach in 2024.
Nienaber is joining Leinster as a senior coach after the Rugby World Cup in France towards the end of the year, and Dobson’s attacking mindset is something that can take the Boks to the next level.
But Dobson won’t give up his current gig just yet.
“It’s not something we’ve even talked about. I really believe in this project we’re doing here. I want to make Cape Town smile,” he said this week.
“In a funny way, we’ve not overachieved, but to host every single URC play-off game is a remarkable achievement. But we are probably ahead of the substance of where we are … We probably need a bit more depth, we need a few more players.
“We need our pathway system firing. We need to come out of administration and all that stuff. On the surface, we look fantastic, but there is a lot of work still to go into this project.
“I can’t say to them ‘Chaps, this means everything to the people of Cape Town’ and everything, and then I get the foreman’s job – and I pack my lunch and say ‘Goodbye chaps’.
“I am very keen to see this project through – that’s the most important thing for me.”
The long-term plans may be to get to the top in the Champions Cup, where the heavyweight French and English clubs operate, but before then, it’s the not-so-small matter of beating Munster in the URC final next weekend.
Tickets will go on sale on Thursday, and the hope is to get a full house of 50 000 spectators on Saturday, May 27 (6.30pm kickoff).
“It means everything. I am acutely aware that sport works in cycles, that the momentum could change, and that there were some results (that went the Stormers’ way) – like the Leinster-Munster result worked in our favour… That’s sort of on a shallower level,” John Dobson said.
“On a deeper level, to have got over 45 000 people at Cape Town Stadium – the biggest crowd in Stormers history (at that venue) – is just remarkable.
“Not only have Western Province been going through things, but Super Rugby was falling off a cliff and has continued to in terms of attendances, broadcast viewership, suite sales and everything…
“And for us to have reinvigorated that culture and seeing what it means to the people and who the people are now – it’s not like it was 20 or 30 years ago. The Men In Black were talked about, and they reached the semi-finals in 1999, and to have got that back – plus, plus, plus – it’s an incredible achievement by this group of players.”
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