DHL Stormers boss John Dobson pays tribute to his assistant coaches Dawie Snyman, Rito Hlungwani and Norman Laker, who all bring something unique to the team.

The best thing about the Stormers coaching environment, and I think everything emanates from there, is the tightness of the coaching staff.

And if you’re friends and enjoy each other’s company, it makes it very special. When the team senses the unity of the coaching staff it helps towards the unity of the team. We’ve got a fantastic group of coaches.

Dawie Snyman is probably the lead coach, and I’ve worked with him going on 14 years. He’s a phenomenal thinker about rugby. If you see him in training, he’s just so passionate and like Norman is probably running as much as the players.

He’s a rugby genius and he comes from a family of those. He’s got a great sense of humour and the players love him – his drinking song when the players make him drink is ‘Dawie Snyman is magic’, and for players to sing that about a coach is special. He’s my right hand.

It’s nice to have different personalities but there’s no personality in the world like Norman Laker, it doesn’t exist. If there are, that person is institutionalised.

He lives, breathes and eats defence. A great coach and great human being. I think he’s one of the best defence coaches in the world.

Then you’ve got Rito Hlungwani who is exceptional. He’s known for his piercing eyes and his really motivational team talks to the forwards.

He’s got a vision for this pack that is quite powerful. He wins the respect of the players through his work ethic and attention to detail. He’s a very serious guy, very direct, and he isn’t swayed by the court of public opinion. And he’s a very good modern coach in that he’s very cooperative.

He’s a very powerful fellow and I’m very excited about his future.

For more, see thestormers.com

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