Dobson: Bulls ‘banter video’ fired up Stormers

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Stormers head coach John Dobson said a video shared by the Bulls on social media in the build-up to Saturday’s North-South derby helped motivate his team to claim a rare victory at Loftus Versfeld.

The video, which took a lighthearted stab at ‘recovering Stormers fans’ who had decided to support the Bulls, went viral on social media in the week leading up to the Vodacom United Rugby Championship match.

Shots fired! Bulls up the banter for URC derby

Ultimately, it did not age very well for the Bulls, as the Stormers were able to come away with a 30-26 victory, thanks to a late try from scrumhalf Paul de Wet.

Speaking after the match, Dobson said he was in favour of anything which would create extra interest in the game, but added his job to motivate his team was made easier by the video.

“I was grateful the video was doing the rounds and we played it in the team room on Friday,” Dobson revealed. “I didn’t speak to the team and I hope there will be Stormers fans recovering from hangovers on Sunday.

“However, anything that creates interest in rugby, I’m in for and it did helped create some interest. There was fun involved, but it help our players a fair bit.”

Dobson also credited Warrick Gelant for his positive impact after the Springbok fullback played a role in two tries after coming off the bench in the second half.

“It was amazing that we clawed ourselves back into the game and when Warrick Gelant came on, that created some magic in our game,” Dobson said.

“It was probably the only thing that was going to get us out of the position that we were in.”

Photo: Christiaan Kotze/BackpagePix

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Dylan Jack