Dobson's Stormers DNA 'stamped on' WP in Currie Cup
REACTION: Stormers and Western Province head John Dobson was proud to see the similarities between his United Rugby Championship team and his Currie Cup team in Johannesburg on Saturday.
WP got their 2023 Currie Cup campaign off to the perfect start with a 44-28 bonus-point win over the Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday.
The Capetonians showed some of the same strengths that the Stormers displayed in Europe so far and that is also largely due to John Dobson being in charge of both teams.
Last year, Jerome Paarwater was the coach of WP and the team only managed three wins in the tournament.
After Saturday’s performance, it seems like WP will be on course for a much better campaign with Dobson running the show.
“I am very happy and very proud of the win,” Dobson told reporters after Saturday’s match.
“What I really liked is that there were similar traits you see in the Stormers team – the way we defended after half-time and the way we worked for each other.”
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#ICYMI: Western Province got their 2023 Currie Cup campaign off to a great start with a 44-28 bonus-point win over the Lions in Johannesburg. 👇#CurrieCup #Lions #WesternProvince #LIOvWP https://t.co/GmQjMBGlXm
— rugby365.com (@rugby365com) March 12, 2023
Western Province showed that they are a cohesive unit, especially when they were down to 14 men on two occasions. Juan de Jong received a yellow card in the first half for taking out a player in the air and loose forward Keke Morabe got 10 minutes in the second half for his team’s repeated infringements.
The Capetonians were also under the pump in the last quarter with the Lions trying to get back in the game, but Dobson’s side managed things well in the end.
“I thought our discipline in the second half wasn’t great. With Juba’s [Juan de Jongh] one I don’t know what else you can do.
“We had a neck roll and tackles without arms, so we were a bit poor. But the way we controlled the game in those periods.
“Entering the last minutes, you got the game wrapped up and the Lions are coming at you and they score a try and the way we went at the end there was brilliant.
“It was so nice to see the same Stormers’ DNA stamped on this team with the way they fight and keep going.”
Dobson said his WP players showed they are ready for the URC.
“[Lions players] Ruan Smith and Sti Sithole are a pair of experienced props and to have Lee-Marvin [Mazibuko], Kwenzo [Blose], Leon Lyons and Sazi [Sandi] go like that was very pleasing.
“Next week we probably got a pretty strong Bulls team, but this is the value of the competition for us. A lot of guys showed they can play URC.”
@rugby365com
