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'We gonna': Stormers were 'cursed' by Joseph Dweba's remarks in viral video
By Kim Ekin
In the aftermath of Leinster’s semi-final defeat to Munster a fortnight ago the Stormers were seen wildly celebrating inside DHL Stadium in Cape Town.
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The defending champions had secured an unlikely home final with Leinster knocked out of the competition, which was rightly a cause for celebration.
However, hooker Joseph Dweba let the euphoria get the best of him proclaiming that the Stormers would ‘f*** them up’ in the final.
The video has now come back to bite after Munster’s 19-14 upset win to claim the URC title in front of 55,000 in Cape Town.
Munster fans haven’t forgotten Dweba’s remarks and were swarming across Twitter in the aftermath of the championship.
Some are even calling it ‘the curse of Joseph Dweba’ which cost the Stormers back-to-back titles along with a ‘cabbage patch’ of a playing pitch.
That video by Joseph Dweba gave them all the motivation next up Saturday, September 23 the Irish beat the Boks at the world cup….
— ®️⭕©️™️ (@Ari_Rush93) May 27, 2023
Where is Joseph Dweba??? https://t.co/bTNrtYpPOH
— TP Pillay (@TP_Pillay) May 27, 2023
Penny for Joseph Dweba’s thoughts right now… #URC
— Peter O’Reilly (@petersuntimes) May 27, 2023
I’m gonna start calling it the “Joseph Dweba” curse 😭😭
— uNtsika (@clbrebrand) May 27, 2023
Can the telly people interview Joseph Dweba now please?? #STOvMUN
— Cormac Lynch (@macser) May 27, 2023
This is what you get when you have a big mouth @joseph dweba
Best to do your talking on the field!!#STOvMUN— Alf (@Marrowbone100) May 27, 2023
Joseph Dweba curse is so real 😭😭🤣 https://t.co/1YUhuhNBd8
— uNtsika (@clbrebrand) May 27, 2023
Munster’s South African lock and former Stormers player Jean Kleyn downplayed the severity of the video impacting Munster’s motivation.
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“I didn’t actually see the video myself – I don’t really tend to go looking for those kinds of things if it didn’t come across my path. I heard a lot about it, though,” Kleyn said during the week.
“So, I’ve heard a lot of talk about the video, but to be honest, I think it’s all a lot of puff. For any team, getting a home final after thinking they’d be playing Leinster away, I think Munster at home seems pretty good.”
The Stormers apologised to their hooker for the leaked video and backed their man to have a big performance in the final.
Perhaps Dweba did curse the final with moments of luck not falling in the Stormers’ favour after an early lead.
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Flyhalf Mannie Libbok was seen showboating on the way to the try line just five minutes in, pointing to Munster players as he candidly jogged over the line.
However, Libbok’s luck turned as the pitch conspired against him later in the first half.
A wicked bounce caused Libbok to fall while wing Calvin Nash ended up having a sitter catch to score a try.
Libbok would later be charged down late in the game which handed Munster the possession from which they scored the game-winning try.
Holding a 14-12 lead over Munster, No 8 Evan Roos burst through the line with a two-on-one opportunity building but he slipped over untouched whilst trying to change angle.
The Stormers had one final shot with a driving maul from around 22 metres out to make something happen but Munster’s pack disarmed it and won a collapsed maul turnover.
Sadly for Dweba his performance on the field was poor.
As a Bordeaux Begles fan I was so exited when Dweba signed in 2020 but reality is despite being a decent player on the loose, his weaknesses with the bread and butter tasks of a hooker like throwing straight touchline or being dominant in a scrum make him a liability in your team at this level. He soon became the #3 or#4 choice at UBB. He seems to be a nice guy off the pitch but he is overrated and at 27 I'm not sure he still has time to deliver on his potential.