Coach John Dobson insists the Stormers never questioned the Vodacom Bulls’ integrity or the legitimacy of SA Rugby providing the Pretoria-based side with coaching support.
This follows the furore sparked by SA Rugby’s announcement ahead of the north-south derby at Cape Town Stadium that Bok assistants Felix Jones and Jerry Flannery, Mobi-Unit coach Duane Vermeulen and head of athletic performance Andy Edwards would provide short-term technical support to the Bulls, who are on a five-match losing run.
Bulls coach Johan Ackermann was forced to clarify that the Bok coaches would not be involved this week.
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Dobson on Friday said the Stormers’ concern was never about “bona fides” or tactical input, but rather the potential psychological impact the announcement could have had on players in game week.
“We weren’t worried about what the Bulls were doing, or whether SA Rugby was allowed to do it,” Dobson said.
“Johan Ackermann is someone we respect enormously, and there was never any suspicion about what they were trying to achieve.”
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Instead, Dobson said the timing and lack of clarity around it created unnecessary noise.
“What was curious for us was the derby week aspect,” he explained. “You’ve got players who are desperate to become Springboks, and suddenly there’s a perception that Springbok coaches might be around one team in a big week.”
Dobson likened it to the well-known “new coach bounce”.
“Across all sports, there’s a placebo effect. If you lose five games in a row and suddenly Nick Mallett walks in, it changes the dynamic, whether anything tactical actually changes or not.”
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He stressed that the Stormers never believed meaningful coaching input could occur in such a short window period.
“They’ve come off a week off. Monday afternoon, Tuesday’s split day, Wednesday you’re moving fast and then you’re done. You can’t change a team in a week, so that wasn’t the concern.”
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What frustrated the Stormers more, Dobson said, was the initial vagueness.
“It was confirmed on Sunday, but without clarity on when it would happen. If it had been confirmed as a long-term thing, or on tour, or later in the season, there would have been absolutely no issue.
“That little bit of uncertainty on Monday morning did put a cloud over things,” he added. “It became a distraction when it really didn’t need to be.
“This is a massive derby. That’s what everyone wants to talk about now – and rightly so.”
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Photo: Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images
