Contrary to what many believe, the Bulls have a huge following in Cape Town and they command respect from the rugby public of the Western Cape. Friday night is shaping up as a super showdown with the Stormers, champions of the URC but also the Bulls’ greatest rivals.
There will be sparring in the provincial media, which is more than you will get between the players from both squads. So many of them are mates. So many of them play together at a national level and, in the case of the Bulls, several were born, raised and schooled in the Western Cape.
Take 2022 Bok sensation Kurt-Lee Arendse. He was loved by the late and great Chester Williams when coaching him at the University of the Western Cape. Chester knew a special outside back when he saw one, but it took Jake White to capitalise on the qualities of Arendse and sign him for the Bulls.
Equally Canan Moodie. He went to Boland Landbou and grew up knowing the Stormers. Equally, he was given a chance by the Bulls and, like Arendse, has prospered.
Neither player would have been lost to the Stormers had John Dobson been in charge back then. Dobson believes in and selects quality local talent.
Dobson also has a knack for bringing back local talent. Think Clayton Blommetjies, think Evan Roos. He also reinvented Manie Libbok’s career when the Bulls and Sharks gave him the bullet.
Dobson and White are special coaches, from different coaching eras but not from different rugby eras. Both were schooled in the history of the game in this country. Both understand authority, albeit in a different way. White was a pupil and master at Jeppe, while Dobbo was a pupil at Bishops, courtesy of his legendary late father Paul Dobson, the revered rugby historian, referee and school master disciplinarian. The only difference is you won’t get Dobbo taking on a school-teaching role. That role he reserved for rugby coaching.
I love the latest cover of SA Rugby Magazine because it honours White and Dobson, the Bulls and the Stormers, and the theme is if both these provinces are strong, then the Springboks are strong.
The cover describes both as “two good men” and implores them to continue to build their respective dynasties in the north and south.
White and Dobson have been schooled in rugby tradition and the respect that comes with that tradition. Both have created history in SA Rugby, post-unification.
So much in this country is made of the Springbok coach, but if the coaches leading the north and south domestically are getting it right, then the quality of player produced will prosper, regardless of who is coaching the Springboks.
White and Dobson have been schooled in rugby tradition and the respect that comes with that tradition. Both have created history in SA Rugby, post-unification. White, when his Springboks beat the Wallabies in the Mandela Challenge, picked eight players of colour in his match 23. At the time, no Bok coach had made such advances in terms of national rugby transformation.
Dobbo, since he has coached the Stormers, has just picked what he has believed to be the best players to suit his rugby philosophy. It is a philosophy that saw the Stormers win a title for the first time with the most transformed Stormers squad in their 26 year history. The Stormers this season started with 11 players of colour. When Dobson was asked about the history-making transformation of his selection, his response was that he picked the best run-on XV to put the match squad in a position to win the game. His team won the game.
White and Dobson, as individuals, are opposites. I doubt they would be mates in any realm of life, but in rugby terms, there will always be respect. When Dobbo last season said it would be his greatest achievement to lead the Stormers to a URC title-winning victory against White as a World Cup winning coach, it was a statement made as a compliment to White.
It was misinterpreted up north, and some took it as the young “bull” taunting the old Bull.
Dobson’s Stormers had won twice in the league, and when they did win the final it was revealing of White’s anger when he made mention of Dobson’s perceived euphoria at beating White three times in succession.
White, for whatever reasons, made it personal when it never was. The Stormers beat the Bulls three times in succession, but as Dobson told the media the five-point winning margin in the final was the biggest in their three matches. The Stormers had won 30-26 at Loftus and 19-17 at the DHL Stadium.
Those are the fine margins, and it won’t be much different on Friday evening in Cape Town.
It won’t be about Dobbo going four in succession or Jake making it one from four. It will be about a game of rugby that does justice to the great rivalry and respect for this SA rivalry. It is one not to be missed.
Mark Keohane is the founder of keo.co.za, a multiple award-winning sports writer and the content director at Habari Media. Twitter: @mark_keohane
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