Independent - Sport - May 2023

CONTENTS

EDITOR’S NOTE

IOL Sport Digimag editor believes the Stormers John Dobson and his players have become much more than just a rugby team.

PHOTOBOOTH

The Faithful have played a big part in the Stormers’ success at home.

RED ALERT

Munster will not lie down and roll over for the Stormers to claim back-to-back URC titles.

Manie Libbok is ready to show Munster that he has rediscovered his mojo.

John Dobson on wanting to build a Stormers dynasty.

ROAD

Both teams have travelled a long path to get to DHL Stadium.

DESIGN & PRODUCTION / COVER: Timothy Alexander | Independent

ACTING SPORT DIGIMAG EDITOR: Zaahier Adams | zaahier.adams@inl.co.za

IOL SPORT LIVE EDITOR: John Goliath | john.goliath@inl.co.za

ACTING EXECUTIVE SPORT EDITOR: Thulani Mbatha | thulani.mbatha@inl.co.za

PRODUCTION: Renata Ford | renata.ford@inl.co.za

GAME

THE

The Stormers will be looking to give their captain Steven Kitshoff the perfect send-off.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT:

Keshni Odayan | keshni.odayan@inl.co.za

SALES: Charl Reineke | charl.reineke@inl.co.za

“DIE KAAP IS WEER HOLLANDS!”

That’s certainly how it feels in the Western Cape. And for those not familiar with the Afrikaans expression, its loose translation means that everything is great again.

People are smiling. Load shedding is put on the back burner. Inflation is put aside. And everything else that is wrong with this beautiful country of ours is forgotten about because Cape Town has a winning rugby team.

It seems simplistic, but that is what the Stormers mean to the “mense”. For two hours every other Saturday they drown themselves in the joy that the boys in blue and white provide.

The Faithful come from far and wide. Wellington, Wynberg, Sea Point, Stellenbosch, Surrey Estate, Laingsburg, Langa and Lentegeur. Before they descended upon Newlands. Now DHL Stadium is home.

My relationship with the Stormers is personal. I was there for their first game. All the way back in 1998 when they wore that horrendous liquorice all sorts jersey.

And then I lived my best teenage life in 1999 with the Men in Black. For me, Bobby Skinstad will forever walk on water. A Stormers Hall of Famer!

The 2010 heartbreak was real though. Even more so after driving for 20 hours to witness the Soweto surrender.

But that was Super Rugby. It’s a new era now in the United Rugby Championship and the Stormers have already tasted sweet success. They are the Champions.

Coupled with trouncing arch-rivals, the Bulls, six times on the bounce and every Capetonian walks a little taller these days.

John Dobson and his players have become much more than just a rugby team. They are a beacon of hope. Not just for Cape Town but the entire South Africa.

A vision of what can be achieved when prejudices are put aside and everyone works passionately together towards a common goal. Munster will not just roll over though. The Irish never do. It’s all set for another humdinger. I cannot wait.

Enjoy Zaahier Adams

Zaahier Adams | @ZaahierAdams | zaahier.adams@inl.co.za

PHOTOBOOTH

The Faithful have played a big part in the Stormers’ success at home.

IMAGES: BackpagePix ; ANA

RED ALERT

Munster will not

lie down and roll over for the Stormers to claim backto-back URC titles.

Zaahier Adams IMAGES: BackpagePix

FORTRESS DHL Stadium has only been breached twice in two years in the United Rugby Championship. And being one of the teams to have lowered the Stormers flag this season, Munster are confident of repeating the act in the Grand Final on Saturday.

“We go to Cape Town with belief,” said Munster coach Graham Rowntree. “This group won’t give in and we have come through some fires in the last few weeks. We go to Cape Town and it will be our sixth away game on the bounce, and that’s when we are finding out about people.”

Munster have travelled a dark road to the showpiece at DHL Stadium. And it was in Cape Town where they turned their season around with a 26-24 victory over the Stormers last month to secure qualification for the URC playoffs.

A 22-all draw followed against the Sharks at Kings Park before Munster travelled to Scotland to beat Glasgow Warriors 14-5 at the Scotstoun Stadium ahead of their epic 16-15 semi-final victory over cross-town rivals Leinster at the Aviva Stadium.

“Our game is still growing. Peter (O’Mahony) spoke really well in the dressing room about the semifinal not being our final,” Rowntree said.

“I said to the group in the week that 25 days ago we were paranoid

about European qualification but then we got to a semi-final, and now we are in a final.”

Munster will be boosted even further by the fact that they beat Leinster without senior players like Springbok lock RG Snyman, centre Malakai Fekitoa and scrumhalf Conor Murray.

All three were instrumental in the victory over the Stormers the last time out and are now back for the showdown in Cape Town after being withdrawn from the semi-final due to concussion protocols.

Inspirational captain O’Mahony and former Stormers lock Jean Kleyn also left the field during the semi-final but have made the trip over the equator to Cape Town.

MAGICAL MANIE

Manie Libbok is ready to show Munster that he has rediscovered his mojo.

IF there is one Stormers player that has unfinished business against Munster in the United Rugby Championship final it will be playmaker Manie Libbok.

The Stormers star pivot has been excellent in the playoffs, producing consecutive Player of the Match performances in the quarter-final (Bulls) and semi-final (Connacht).

The 25-year-old was particularly good against the Irish side, contributing a personal haul of 23 points, which included two tries, five conversions and a penalty.

He also showcased his vision with a couple of cross-field kicks that led to two Stormers tries, while he attacked the gain line with great purpose.

But it was against Munster last month when Libbok surprisingly left his kicking boots at home as he missed five shots at goal. This allowed Graham Rowntree’s side to take the spoils 26-24, which also saw the Stormers surrender their 100% home record at DHL Stadium.

“That performance against Munster was tough, especially kicking to goal. But I don’t think my game was off, I think I did a good job ingeneral,”

Leighton Koopman IMAGES: BackpagePix

Libbok said.

“Those kinda games, it builds my character because I took a lot of learnings from it. It also shows and reminds you that there’s still a lot to work on and improve on.”

Libbok has certainly responded in a positive manner since that rare off day at the office, and it is all due to the hard work he puts in at training with kicking coach Gareth Wright.

“If you put it like that into perspective and go back and put the work in, especially with kicking. We have a phenomenal kicking coach

(Wright) here at the Stormers that helps me a lot with my kicking,” he said.

“He brings the best out of me by putting the work in with me. I am grateful for him. All that work paid off in the Bulls game, I got my confidence back again. But not just from the Bulls game, the Benetton one too. I am happy, holding my head down and I’ll keep on crafting and working on my craft.”

Libbok has previously shown that he is the man for the big occasion as he slotted a penalty in the dying moments of last year’s semi-final against Ulster to send the Cape team through to their first-ever URC final.

The Vodacom Fans’ Player of the Season will like nothing more than to set the record straight with a flawless kicking display on Saturday.

KEEP ON SMILING

Dobson is as Capetonian as the fish from Hout Bay and the wine from Stellenbosch.

Born-and-bred a stone throw from Newlands, and blessed with a rugby encyclopaedia as a late father “Oupa Dobson” and mentor in former Bishops guru Basil Bey, Dobson is acutely aware of the the love and affection the “mense” have for Western Province and the Stormers.

It’s a fire that burns within “Dobbo” himself. And the energy that drives his teams to play the brand of rugby to “Make Cape Town Smile”.

Two successive United Rugby Championship finals has certainly helped the cause, and Dobson and his team, would like nothing more than to raise the giant silver trophy aloft again in front of what is expected to be a record 55 000 fans at the DHL Stadium.

“When we sat down towards the end of Covid-19 restrictions and thought about what we’re trying to do with the Stormers, we had a simple mission: to get Cape Town smiling again,” he said.

“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.

The Stormers under coach John Dobson are on a mission to build a rugby dynasty in the Western Cape.

Zaahier Adams IMAGES: BackpagePix ; ANA

“Last year our mission was called Get Cape Town Smiling because it was a start. And this year it was a bit more emphatic – Make Cape Town Smile – and it’s all about what we’re trying to build.

“Because we know that being in the Western Cape looks like what it means to the people. There is a police commander at a station out in Delft or Blue Downs, I’m not sure which, and he told me that when the Stormers win, genderbased violence drops that night.

“And you can extrapolate that as far as you want. It’s helluva powerful.”

Dobson explained the “why” behind his team’s success in further detail, claiming that their motivating factor will always be “The Faithful” who part with their hard-earned cash to take up a seat in the stands.

“We are different to every other team (in the country). This team belongs to people across every demographic, and every LSM, and our connection with that is so important to us,” he said.

“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.

“If you look at those people who fills them (the stands), they’re not swanning out of the penthouses in Blouberg or Clifton. They represent our men. They represent our people of Cape Town.

“I went to the airport 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.

“Those are the people we are playing for and our project is to restore the Stormers to its full pride. We have sold this vision and we have only just started. I have said to the players that we are going to build a dynasty here.”

EMBEDDED VIDEO

Stormers coach John Dobson: ‘We want to make Cape Town smile’.

GRAND FINAL ROAD TO THE

VERSUS MUNSTER

TROPHY FOR INTERACTION OF FIXTURES

MAY 2023 | 18:30

*1-8 = TEAM RANKING

SUPPLIED IMAGES: BackpagePix ; ANA ; United Rugby ; logotyp.us

GAME ON!

Five head-to-head exchanges that could influence the outcome of the final.

WHILE rugby is very much a team game, there are always mini-battles that can decide the course of the war. Here are the soldiers that will contest it…

DEON FOURIE V PETER O’MAHONY

WHAT a pair of wily campaigners these two are. Fourie and O’Mahony are 36 and 33 years of age respectively and they wear the scars of countless campaigns. They roll up their sleeves and go head first into the rucks to win the ball, with scant regard for life or limb. The Munster forwards follow O’Mahony’s example and if Fourie can keep the 94-cap Ireland international quiet, it will help the Stormers’ cause significantly.

RUBEN VAN HEERDEN V TADGH BEIRNE

LIKE Manie Libbok, Van Heerden has morphed into a worldclass prospect since leaving the Sharks Tank and swimming in the fresher waters of the Cape, even if he took a detour via the Exeter Chiefs in England for a few months. The lineout battle is always key to a game and Van Heerden is up against the very experienced Beirne, a current Ireland team member who locals will remember for the two Tests he played for the British and Irish Lions against the Boks in 2021.

Mike Greenaway IMAGES: BackpagePix ; ANA ; United Rugby

LEOLIN ZAS V KEITH EARLES

THE 35-year-old Earles is synonymous with the Munster rugby team. It is unlikely that there has been a more popular Munster man than this 35-year-old who only a few weeks ago notched up his 200th appearance for the club. Needless to say, he is vastly experienced and his duel with Zas will be fascinating. Zas was the URC’s top try scorer last year but only returned from a long-term injury in the quarter-final against the Bulls. This would be the perfect time for him to fire.

DAMIAN WILLEMSE V MIKE HALEY

THE Springbok fullback at his mercurial best is one of the biggest threats in rugby. When he gets the ball DHL Stadium holds its breath. Opposite Willemse is the rock-solid Haley. He played 107 times for the Sale Sharks in England before moving to Munster where he is sitting on 96 caps.  He will be keeping his eyes glued on the slippery Willemse.

HERSCHEL JANTJIES V CONOR MURRAY

THE scrumhalf showdown is always significant. Jantjies’ form is on an upward trajectory as the World Cup approaches. He knows he is facing fierce competition from emerging talent such as Grant Williams of the Sharks and he was very slick in the quarter-final. Murray will be back after missing the quarter-finals and Jantjies will have his hands full against a 34-year-old who has played 109 times for his country and 176 times for Munster.

THE LAST DANCE

The Stormers will be looking to give their captain Steven Kitshoff the perfect send-off on Saturday.

IT’S goodbye but not farewell to Stormers captain and stalwart prop Steven Kitshoff as he prepares to greet the DHL Stadium and Cape Town faithful one last time in Saturday’s United Rugby Championship final against Munster.

Ulster and Belfast await after Saturday evening with Kitshoff’s decade-long Stormers career drawing to a close, but it is a journey the 31-year-old can look back on with fond memories.

It’s been a month of farewells for the Stormers skipper since the home quarterfinal against the Bulls with the Rugby Gods aligning to extend Kitshoff’s final hurrah.

“Cape Town is home for me. I just had the opportunity to go overseas again and I’ve spoken to Dobbo (John Dobson) and he is keen to have me back. So I am just going to go for a stint and keep the lines of communication open.

“Financially, it made sense (to go overseas), and it was also a good opportunity to get some experience, so I felt like I had to take it. Before I made the decision I spoke to Marcell Coetzee and Ruan

Leighton Koopman IMAGES: BackpagePix ; ANA

(Pienaar), and Duane (Vermeulen), who were there at some stage. They were all very happy at Ulster and there’s a good team culture.

“But I am keen to come back, the Stormers will always be my home.”

For Kitshoff it feels like only yesterday he stepped into the Stormers jersey, and remembers his debut as a then 18-year-old for Allister Coetzee’s team back in 2011 very fondly.

He was fresh out of school, but quickly established himself as a prop to be reckoned with.

“I always lived in Cape Town –Stellenbosch and Somerset West at school – so I’ve always been a big Stormers supporter, especially when I started playing for them, it meant so much more.

“It’s been a long road since representing them at Craven Week level as a schoolboy. I had a couple of heroes, especially when I went to high school, and understood the game a bit more. Guys like Andries Bekker and Schalk Burger and those okes, who I had the opportunity to play with.

“Those were the guys who stood out for me, and I always wished I could play like them and move like them, but unfortunately I ate too much as a kid so I went to the front row. The 2006 to 2010 Stormers team was just incredible.

“It also feels like just the other day that I put a Stormers jersey on for the first time. I remember my first

(Super Rugby) tour with the team. It’s been an incredible journey, and I would not change it for the world.”

But for now, Kitshoff has to say goodbye and just wants to enjoy his last match in the Stormers jersey, which hopefully ends once more with him raising the silver cup.