'Remarkable': Dobson's young guns give Bulls something to think about
REACTION: Stormers head coach John Dobson was full of praise for his young Western Province squad after they thumped the Bulls in the Currie Cup in Cape Town on Saturday.
The home side outscored the visitors by four tries to one on their way to a convincing 31-7 win.
What made the win more special for the WP was the fact they played with the majority of the personnel that did duty in the Currie this season, while the Bulls were loaded with their United Rugby Championship stars.
The result also comes ahead of the Stormers’ URC quarterfinal against the Bulls at the same venue next weekend.
“The result was important in terms of staying in the Currie Cup fight,” Dobson told reporters after the match.
“We put some real pride in the Province jersey. It was a special performance I am really proud of them.”
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On that whole discussion of WP beating a strong Bulls side, Dobson believes the result won’t have any significance leading up to the URC showdown at Cape Town Stadium.
“We had to stay disciplined in our goals and that is why we picked the team we did,” said Dobson.
“In a funny way, it paid off because we saw some remarkable performances out there from guys like Keke Morabe, who some might not know about.
“For next the week, the spoils will go to the victor.
“It’s a massive game. We will get some confidence out of it [Currie Cup win], but they [Bulls] will also have a bit more understanding of how we are playing the game at the moment.
“There are arguments for both sides but our team will be the 15 that didn’t play today [Saturday].
“It’s a massive game with massive consequences.
“This was great in the contest of Western Province versus the Bulls, but I think it will have very little bearing on next week.”
On those young guns, Dobson added: “The performances of Dylan de Leeuw, Connor Evans, Keke Morabe and Lee-Marvin Mazibuko were really special.
“These guys also played against a URC front row and we did alright.
“I am very pleased both in terms of our goal staying in the competition, and secondly our goal of creating depth and you can see some really good talented young players.”
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