Dobson Building a ‘Bok Factory’

The DHL Stormers are reaping the rewards of coach John Dobson’s bold approach to identifying homegrown talent and blooding young stars in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship.

Dobson, with a sprinkling of Springboks and relying heavily on DHL Western Province’s youth systems, has produced a DHL Stormers side that won the inaugural Vodacom URC and has retained the SA Shield en route to the playoffs. His side also completed the South African slam in winning all six league matches against South Africa’s other league franchises.

The emergence of SA U20s skipper Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, along with fellow Junior Springbok stars Suleiman Hartzenberg and Connor Evans, headline an exciting crop of Cape-born and raised talent that bolsters the ranks of future Boks at the DHL Stormers.

The trio are products of the famed (Bishops) Diocesan College in Cape Town, and their rapid rise to the pros can be tracked through the DHL Western Province age-group ranks.

Since making his DHL Stormers debut, Feinberg-Mngomezulu has been compared in playing style and versatility to teammate Damian Willemse, and has similarly shifted seamlessly between flyhalf and inside centre.

An exciting prospect at outside centre and wing, the 19-year-old Hartzenberg has featured prominently in his maiden Vodacom URC bow, while Evans has regularly come to the aid of the defending champions in the midst of a lock crisis.

Paul Roos Gymnasium schooled playmaker Kade Wolhuter has made a handful of appearances this season but with some consistent game time on the horizon he is tipped to emerge as a bright prospect in the DHL Stormers No 10 jersey.

Fellow Paul Roos Gymnasium alum JJ Kotze is part of a talented group of DHL Stormers hookers to come through the pipeline. Together with Andre-Hugo Venter, he has been relentlessly pushing Boks Joseph Dweba and Scarra Ntubeni for more game time.

Teenage scrumhalf Imad Khan, a 2022 U20 Six Nations Summer Series winner with the Junior Springboks, made his Vodacom URC debut off the bench against Glasgow Warriors in round 12, and the Bishops prodigy could become a contender for the No 9 jersey in the near future.

Yet, the conveyor belt churning out the next generation of DHL Stormers stars is not limited to the schools system in the Cape region. Ben-Jason Dixon and Marcel Theunissen are grafting tirelessly this season in the second and back row, having first caught the eye in the FNB Varsity Cup with (Stellenbosch’s) Maties.

Also, former UCT Ikeys and SA Schools captain and Junior Springbok representative Nama Xaba couples an incredible work ethic with a sharp mind, which has made him an all-round threat all over the park.

“I’m confident in the squad, and it is a young squad,” Dobson said. “But if I think of Sacha, Imad Khan, Suleiman Hartzenberg, Connor Evans, Kade Wolhuter … it’s maybe a bit early for them in the traditional sense but it’s an opportunity for them to get better, and come the 2023-24 season they’ll be so much better for the experience.

“One of the ways we can attract players to the DHL Stormers and to retain the best of our schools, club and Varsity talent is to consistently be title contenders, to play an exciting brand of rugby and to showcase that in playing for us also improves any national Springbok possibility. The Evan Roos story has been a massive story for us, the same with veteran Deon Fourie and the former Paarl Boys High, WP and SA Schools captain Salmaan Moerat. And some of these youngsters I’ve mentioned, maybe not this season but I think they can become Springboks.

“If we’re seen as a Springbok factory, guys will want to come play for us, and that’s an important yardstick for our success.”