Stormers coach John Dobson heaps praise on Damian Willemse

By SABC Sport
21st October 2024

Director of Rugby John Dobson was thrilled with what was a crucial United Rugby Championship win for the Stormers against Munster at DHL Stadium.

In their first home game of the URC season after a three-week European tour, the Stormers scored four tries and Damian Willemse - playing at flyhalf - kicked 14 points in a 34-19 bonus-point victory.

"He was really good, wasn't he?" said Dobson of his flyhalf.

"We get crucified for playing Damian in different positions, but he is such a strong team man. He will never sit there and ask us to choose between him and Warrick Gelant at fullback. He is all about being wherever the team needs him. Last week, he made mistakes against Edinburgh, but they weren't related to him playing at flyhalf. His last game at flyhalf was a Test match at Twickenham almost two years ago. Given that, you could almost expect a couple of mistakes when he was thrown in at 10 at a high-level competition in Edinburgh.

"Today, he was really, really good. He went down with a knock to his chest, but he said he wanted to keep playing. He is an extraordinarily committed guy and an absolute treasure."

The victory marked the Stormers' first triumph over the Irish club in five encounters in the URC. They will next face URC title-holders Glasgow Warriors at Danie Craven Stadium in Round Six of the competition.

"The feeling is pure relief," continued Dobson.

"This was a really tough week. For me, the record against Munster wasn't a massive thing. If we had another loss, it could've done more damage. Last year, we felt that pressure after the 0-4 tour. There was a knife to our throat for the whole season. If we had lost tonight, we really would've been on the dust road. We have another one to do next week, then I think we will be in a really good spot.

"Where I think we were absolutely magnificent was defensively. Munster are a really good attacking team, but they needed us to give away penalties to get any entries. So I thought this was a very good defensive effort. We were a team fighting for a win. We started the second half with a lot of intensity. The way we finished was good as well."