Dobson hails ‘magnificent’ Willemse

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Stormers boss John Dobson says he hopes Damian Willemse’s superb performance against the Cheetahs on Saturday will silence the flyhalf’s critics.

The Stormers beat the Cheetahs 30-13 at Newlands, a result that elevated them up to second in the Super Rugby Unlocked standings with one round of fixtures remaining.

Willemse, who has come in for a lot of criticism in recent weeks, was excellent for the hosts. He dictated play, controlled the pace of the game, kicked well out of hand and off the tee and provided an try-assist for teammate Warrick Gelant. In addition, the 22-year-old contributed 15 points via three conversions, two penalties and a sweetly struck drop goal.

In the press conference after the game, Dobson was full of praise for Willemse, who he believes has gotten better and better as the tournament progressed.

‘The graph over the last three weeks has been steadily upwards,’ Dobson said. ‘Hopefully, slowly, we can silence the haters because I thought he was really magnificent tonight.’

‘His game control was great. That was a really tough game and probably the most physical we’ve played this year, so to have him in that sort of pressure and performing lik that made me very happy.’

‘We want to control games with territory, and I think Damian has made massive progress, but we want to score tries that suit Western Province and Stormers rugby and make people smile and I think we did that as well.’


Photo: Gallo Images

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SA Rugby magazine