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John Dobson on the URC final threat posed by 'remarkable' Munster

By PA
(Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Stormers head coach John Dobson has hailed as phenomenal the Munster run to the URC final on Saturday in Cape Town. While the Stormers are chasing back-to-back URC titles, Munster have not won a major trophy for 12 years.

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But Graham Rowntree’s team – beaten finalists in 2015, 2017 and 2021 – have shown their quality through some outstanding late-season form and their sequence of impressive results includes a 26-24 away victory over the Stormers last month.

“They came here and ended our unbeaten record, then they go to the Sharks (in Durban) – a fully-loaded Sharks – and draw. They go to Scotstoun in Glasgow, who haven’t lost there in the whole season. They win in Glasgow and they then go and win in Leinster. That is phenomenal.

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WATCH as Munster defence coach Denis Leamy talks about the Stormers’ pivotal threat in Saturday’s URC Final in Cape Town

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WATCH as Munster defence coach Denis Leamy talks about the Stormers’ pivotal threat in Saturday’s URC Final in Cape Town

Graham Rowntree is obviously a very bright coach. He has done an exceptional job with Munster. He is a really nice guy, a true rugby guy, and what they have done lately is remarkable.”

Rowntree has made three changes from the side that defeated semi-final opponents Leinster, with centre Malakai Fekitoa, scrum-half Conor Murray and wing Calvin Nash all returning after completing return-to-play protocols following the quarter-finals.

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Assessing the challenge, Rowntree said: “Looking at how we broke them down (in April) and dealt with their power game will help, but they will be better than that night. They will be battle-hardened themselves, so it will be a real challenge for us. But we are in a final, we back the work we have done, we back our fitness. There is loads to improve on in our game.”

South Africa internationals Deon Fourie and Marvin Orie return to the Stormers line-up after recovering from injury for what will be a sold-out encounter at DHL Stadium. Dobson added: “It is an incredible feeling for us to make the grand final again – it is quite emotional.

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“We have a lot of respect for Munster – the truth is that we have never beaten them – so while we are thrilled to be playing at home, we know it will be a big challenge against a good team. It should be an amazing occasion for the team, our passionate supporters and the city of Cape Town.”

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Tom 56 minutes ago
England player ratings vs South Africa | 2024 Autumn Nations Series

That 2019 performance was literally the peak in attacking rugby under Eddie. If you thought that was underwhelming, the rest of it was garbage.


I totally get what you're saying and England don't need or have any God given right to the best coaches in the world... But I actually think the coaches we do have are quite poor and for the richest union in the world, that's not good enough. 


England are competitive for sure but with the talent pool up here and the funds available, we should be in the top 3. At the very least we should be winning six nations titles on a semi-regular basis. If Ireland can, England definitely should.


England's attack coach (Richard Wigglesworth) is Borthwick's mate from his playing days at Saracens, who he brought to Leicester with him when he became coach. Wigglesworth was a 9 who had no running or passing game, but was the best box kicker in the business. He has no credentials to be an attack coach and I've seen nothing to prove otherwise. Aside from Marcus Smith’s individual brilliance, our collective attack has looked very uninspiring.

 

England's defence coach (Joe El-Abd) is Borthwick's housemate from uni, who has never been employed as a defence coach before. He's doing the job part time while he's still the head coach of a team in the second division of French rugby who have an awful defensive record. England's defence has gone from being brutally efficient under Felix Jones to as leaky as a colander almost overnight.


If Borthwick brings in a new attack and defence coach then I'll absolutely get behind him but his current coaches seem to be the product of nepotism. He's brought in people he's comfortable with because he lacks confidence as an international head coach and they aren't good enough for international rugby.


England are competitive because they do some things really well, mostly they front up physically, make a lot of big hits, have a solid kicking game, a good lineout, good maul, Marcus Smith and some solid forwards. A lot of what we do well I would ascribe to Borthwick personally. I don't think he's a bad coach, I think he lacks imagination and is overly risk averse. He needs coaches who will bring a point of difference.


I guess my point is, yes England are competitive, but we’re not aiming for competitive and I honestly don't believe this coaching setup has what it takes to make us any better than competitive.


On the plus side it looks like we have an amazing crop of young players coming through. Some of them who won the u20 world cup played for England A against Australia A on the weekend and looked incredible... Check out the highlights on youtube.

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