In an exclusive interview, Stormers coach John Dobson talks about his team’s prospects in this year’s Vodacom Super Rugby competition.

Vodacom Super Rugby 2020 is about to kick off and the Stormers will start their campaign against the Hurricanes at Newlands.

While they start with a cross-conference clash, the Cape side’s local rivals the Sharks, Vodacom Bulls and Lions will fight it out in inter-conference clashes. The Sharks and Bulls square off at Kings Park in Durban, while the Lions face the Jaguares in Buenos Aires.

Since the introduction of the conference system in 2015, the Stormers have only managed to win the South African conference once (2015). But Dobson, who will be entering his first campaign at the helm, believes his team must embrace the pressure of being considered the leading contenders to finish top of the conference standings.

Dobson delights as Stormers coach

In a candid interview, Dobson said they embrace the favourites tag and anything other than a conference win will be underachieving.

‘Without being too arrogant, I can’t see how we can not be [favourites] in the conference,’ Dobson said. ‘I think it will be an underachievement [if the Stormers don’t win the conference], given the personnel we’ve got, the returning Boks, some good youngsters, an incredible blend of youth and experience and a couple of other factors in our favour like a reasonably good home run before we travel too far,  and it being the last year at Newlands.

‘It seems like a perfect storm, and it almost seems like we’re set up to disappoint again because it just seems too good to be true, to be honest,’ he laughed.

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