Cape Town - As a born-and-bred coach from Cape Town, Stormers boss John Dobson knows all about the love and affection people of the region have for the Stormers and Western Province.
That is why he’s set the goal for his sides to get the Western Cape smiling again with the type of rugby they play.
And it has brought back-to-back finals in the United Rugby Championship (URC) as Dobson hopes they can win the trophy again in two weeks’ time for the Mense.
Although they would not have minded a trip to Dublin to play Leinster, the Stormers will face Munster on May 27 in the final in front of their faithful supporters, who have been firmly behind them the whole season.
Almost 45000 supporters flocked to Green Point to support them against their arch-enemy, the Bulls, two weeks ago. Dobson was even more chuffed and happy that more than 47 000 were at the semi-final against Connacht, who are traditionally not one of the powerhouses of the competition.
With tickets for the final set to go on sale tomorrow from as little as R80, the Stormers are eager to repay the faith put in them by the Mense.
“After Covid-19 ended, we sat down and thought about what we wanted to do with the Stormers and I did not think we would be getting over 45 000 people for a home game against Connacht; they are not the most known team,”
Dobson said about the Mense, as he affectionately calls the Stormers’ supporters.
“But it all ties in with what we want to build. We know what rugby in the Western Cape looks like, what it means to the people.
“I went to the airport on Wednesday (last week) and there was a guy running up to me, asking if he could get a lift back to town (Cape Town). He did not know who I was.
“But he told me ‘I want to watch the Stormers on the weekend. What I am doing is I’m not taking public transport this week’. He's coming every day to the airport and asks for a lift from there to get to work in town.
“A police commander out in Delft or Blue Downs said to me when the Stormers win, cases of gender-based violence go down on that Saturday.
“Those are the people we are playing for and our project is to restore the Stormers to its full pride.”
According to Dobson, they’ve gone a bit quicker with that process than he thought, especially getting back-to-back finals in the URC.
“We are different from every other team (in the country). This team belongs to people across every demographic, and every LSM stand, and our connection with that is so important to us.
“Everyone has a story. Marvin (Orie) is from Toilet City in Belhar. Kitsie (Steven Kitshoff) and Frans (Malherbe) keep the brandy sales (going). We are trying to build a special rugby place here.”
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— Ashfak Mohamed (@ashfakmohamed) May 17, 2023
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