Another success story is brewing at the Stormers
REACTION: Stormers and Western Province head coach John Dobson believes Clayton Blommetjies will be another success story at the union.
The 32-year-old produced a man-of-the-match performance in WP’s Currie Cup Round Two victory over the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on Friday.
He scored a crucial second-half try in the 41-33 win and he was just a constant threat with ball in hand in the game.
There were some question marks last year over the No.15 jersey when Warrick Gelant left for France, but Blommetjies is showing some growth under Dobson in Cape Town.
The Stormers and WP have a proven track record when it comes to revitalising careers and Blommetjies seems to be on the same path.
“We have prided ourselves, and it almost started by accident, by turning guys {around],” said Dobson.
“Whether it is Manie Libbok, Hacjivah [Dayimani] or Evan Roos – we actually started to pride ourselves on that now.
“I was worried about Blomme when he first came here. He didn’t quite get our defensive system.
“Our back three were running massive distances in the backfield and he was running about 30 to 40 percent less than them and we just invested so much in trying to coach him and he just responded so well.
“At this stage, it is heading towards another success story. I thought he was exceptional [against the Bulls].”
The story continues below…
#ICYMI: WATCH as Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White takes full responsibility for his team’s current run of poor form in all competitions. 👇#CurrieCup #Bulls #WesternProvin #BULvWP https://t.co/oSv8Hi8Q70
— rugby365.com (@rugby365com) March 19, 2023
A team man
Dobson revealed that Blommetjies was more than happy to do Currie Cup duties after a few players were unavailable for the No.15 jersey.
“Sacha [Feinberg-Mngomezulu] and Tristan Leyds were out and I asked Blomme last week if he wouldn’t mind coming to Ellis Park [for the Round One fixture against the Lions] and he said he would love to play for Western Province.
“It has been a bit of work from both of our sides and he had to learn a new system, but I thought he was absolutely brilliant.
“In my mind, he was our man of the match.”
