Date of birth | 1970 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Place of birth | Welkom, Vrystaat | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
John Dobson is a South African rugby union coach, currently the head coach of United Rugby Championship side Stormers. [1]
As a player, Dobson played as a hooker for Western Province, as well as amateur club sides in the Western Province Super League such as UCT Ikey Tigers, Villagers sand Northerns. He also had spells in Italy at Valpolicella Rugby Club and Portugal. [1]
He was the head coach of the UCT Ikey Tigers for their first three seasons in the Varsity Cup competition from 2008 to 2010. He guided them to the final in the inaugural 2008 season, where they lost to Western Cape rivals Maties [2] and helped them reach the play-offs again in 2009, losing 17–19 to NWU Pukke in the semi-final. [3]
Dobson was appointed as the technical director of Italian National Championship of Excellence side Roma for the 2009–10 season. [4] He was due to coach new Italian franchise Praetorians Roma in the 2010–11 Celtic League, [5] but their inclusion in the European competition never materialised, with Benetton Treviso being included instead. He returned to South Africa to guide UCT Ikey Tigers the final of the 2010 Varsity Cup, where a repeat of the 2008 final also saw the same result, with Maties winning their third title in succession. [6]
In 2010, Dobson was appointed as the coach of the Western Province U21 side and he helped them win the 2010 Under-21 Provincial Championship in his first season in charge, as they beat the Blue Bulls U21s 43–32 in the final in Durban. [7] He returned as a technical adviser to his former assistant Kevin Foote for the UCT Ikey Tigers' 2011 Varsity Cup campaign, which they won for the first time, beating UP Tuks 26–16 in the final. [8]
He also took over Western Province's Vodacom Cup team and helped them to a quarter final spot in 2011, where they lost 19–21 to a Sharks XV. [9] In the second half of the season, his Western Province Under-21 side reached the semi-final of the 2011 Under-21 Provincial Championship, but Dobson lost out to the same opposition, with the Sharks U21s winning the match 19–12. [10]
Western Province won the Vodacom Cup under Dobson's tutelage for the first and only time in 2012, beating five-time champions Griquas 20–18 in Kimberley. [11] Dobson reached another final with the Under-21 side, but they fell short in the 2012 Under-21 Provincial Championship, losing 13–22 to the Blue Bulls U21s. [12]
The 2013 Vodacom Cup saw Western Province again reach the play-offs, but they lost 25–44 to eventual champions the Golden Lions in the semi-finals, [13] but Dobson had more success at Under-21 level, winning the 2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship, beating the Blue Bulls U21s 30–23 [14] to win their second title in three seasons.
An exit in the quarter final stage of the 2014 Vodacom Cup (losing 8–13 to the Pumas) [15] was followed by a run to the finals for the Under-21s; however, they failed to defend their title, losing 10–20 to the Blue Bulls U21s. [16]
Dobson once again guided Western Province to the final of the Vodacom Cup in 2015, but were defeated 7–24 by the Pumas who won their first Vodacom Cup title. [17]
In total, Dobson guided Western Province to the Vodacom Cup play-offs for five consecutive years between 2011 and 2015, winning the title once. He also guided the Western Province Under-21s to five consecutive play-offs between 2010 and 2014, winning two titles and ending as losing finalists on two occasions.
In February 2015, Dobson was appointed as the head coach of Western Province's Currie Cup for the 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, taking over from Allister Coetzee, who departed to Japan to take over at the Kobelco Steelers. [18] In his first season of charge, he guided Western Province for the Currie Cup final – their fourth consecutive final appearance – but they fell short, losing the final 24–32 against the Golden Lions. [19]
In 2016, Dobson's Western Province finished in top spot of the 2016 Currie Cup qualification series, [20] winning thirteen of their fourteen matches during the competition. [21]
Away from the coaching field, Dobson holds a Law Degree, a master's degree in Business Administration and another one in Creative Writing, which he attained at the University of Cape Town. [22] He is the founder of the 365 Media Group and the Rugby365 website. He is also an author and so far published two novels, Year of the Gherkin in 2012 [23] and Year of the Turnip in 2016. [24]
Liam Chad Hendricks is a South African rugby union player for Western Province in the Currie Cup and the Rugby Challenge. His regular position is prop.
Danie Poolman is a South African former professional rugby union player. He played for Irish provincial side Connacht Rugby in the Pro12 until 2017 followed by a spell playing amateur rugby in Dublin with Bective Rangers in the Leinster League. He primarily plays on the wing or in the centre. Born in Pretoria, he formerly played for Western Province in South Africa's Currie Cup, and Super Rugby side the Stormers. Qualified to play for Ireland by residence since 2015, Poolman indicated his intention to do so.
Demetri Catrakilis is a South African former professional rugby union player. He played for Premiership side Harlequins, Top 14 side Montpellier, for the Stormers and the Southern Kings in Super Rugby and Pro 14, for Western Province in the Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup competitions and for the UCT Ikey Tigers in the Varsity Cup. His regular playing position was fly-half.
Ricky Darryl Schroeder is a former South African rugby union player, who most recently played with the Southern Kings in Super Rugby. His regular position is scrum-half.
Neil Rautenbach is a Namibian South African-born rugby union player for the Boland Cavaliers in the Currie Cup and the Rugby Challenge. His regular position is hooker.
Jan-Frederik Uys is a South African rugby union player, currently playing with an Italian team, Zebre Parma. His regular position is lock.
Huw Richard Forbes Jones is a Scottish professional rugby union player who plays as a centre for United Rugby Championship club Glasgow Warriors and the Scotland national team.
John-Ben Kôtze is a South African professional rugby union player for the Bulls in Super Rugby and the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup. His regular position is centre, but he is also comfortable at wing.
Daniel Pieter "Reniel" Hugo is a South African professional rugby union player for Sharks in the Currie Cup in South Africa. He mainly plays as a lock, but can also play as a loose forward and flanker.
Daniel Barend Jordaan is a South African professional rugby union player who played first class rugby with the Leopards between 2012 and 2016. His regular position is lock.
Johannes Cornelis de Klerk is a South African professional rugby union player for Canon Eagles in the Japanese Top League. His regular position is lock.
Nqobisizwe Minentle 'Mox' Mxoli is a South African rugby union professional player for Griquas in the Currie Cup. His regular position is prop.
Nollis Marais is a South African professional rugby union coach of Pretoria-based side the Blue Bulls XV and formerly head coach of their associated Super Rugby franchise, the Bulls.
Johannes Casper Kirsten is a South African rugby union professional player for Exeter Chiefs in Premiership Rugby. His regular position is lock or flanker. Kirsten previously played for the Bulls in Super Rugby.
Shaun Adendorff is a South African professional rugby union player for Northampton Saints in Premiership Rugby. His regular position is flanker.
Duncan Victor Matthews is a South African rugby union player for the Golden Lions in the Currie Cup. He also plays for the Seattle Seawolves in Major League Rugby (MLR) in the United States. He can play as a fullback, winger or centre.
Jacobus Johannes van Dyk is a South African rugby union player for the Stormers in Super Rugby. His regular playing positions are number 8, lock or flanker.
Chad Solomon is a South African rugby union player for the Stormers in Super Rugby and Western Province in the Currie Cup and in the Rugby Challenge. His regular position is hooker.
Justin Forwood is a South African professional rugby union player for French Pro D2 Soyaux Angouleme. His regular position is loosehead prop.
Beyers Johannes de Villiers is a former South African rugby union player, who played as a flanker. He played first class rugby for Western Province in 2016 and represented university side Maties in the Varsity Cup between 2013 and 2017. He retired in February 2017 on medical grounds.