John Dobson has defended the Stormers’ second successive United Rugby Championship quarter-final exit away to Glasgow – but several fans are calling for him to step down as head coach at the South African franchise.
While the Cape Town club remain the only South African winner of the URC title, claiming the trophy in 2022, their season-ending performances since then have left much to be desired.
They were frustratingly beaten in the 2023 decider by Munster, getting sucker punched in the closing stages of that final in their own DHL Stadium backyard, and their lacklustre exits the past two seasons have now taken place in Glasgow following fifth-place regular season finishes.
Last year’s margin of defeat was 17 points – 10-27 and a try count of 1-3 against – and this year’s gap was 18 – 18-36 with a wounding 2-5 try count.
Dobson claimed in the aftermath of Friday latest quarter-final night’s loss: “I thought we fought, I couldn’t sit in the change room and complain about the efforts.”
However, this latest Stormers exit hasn’t gone down well with supporters, igniting calls that Dobson should now be moved on and be replaced by former Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer. Here is a flavour of the fallout taking place on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter:
‘You need Heyneke…’
Johan Jordaan: “Stormers may hate me for saying this, but you need Heyneke. A little blue juice injection! Remember, he is actually a Stormers supporter before you grab the pitchforks and chainsaws… They need Heyneke, Nienaber and the intervention of the holy spirit to fix the mess. 142 successful Glasgow tackles vs 62 successful Stormers tackles. It is wild.”
@LaPoen: “Dobson has reached his ceiling, I’m afraid. Stormers have a lightweight tag again, horrible defence and absolutely no grunt in them. It’s time to change.”
Brenton Jonker: “The excuses are too much. I was rooting for the Stormers, but they have world-class players and just didn’t want to win as badly as Glasgow. It is time for Dobbo to hang up the whistle. There was no real plan or at least they looked very mechanical.”
@G-Man5000: “Stormers have underperformed for years now. It’s both a coaching problem and the fact that we overrate our talent and depth somewhat. This applies to the Sharks and Bulls too. On the coaching side, it’s the coaching specialists who are lacking.”
@PeterRugbyEater: “The Stormers have structural problems. I don’t think Dobbo can take the team to the next level. In the first season, he pitched the ‘us against the world’ narrative. That’s not sustainable.”
Stormers have underperformed for years now. I think its both a coaching problem and the fact that we over rate our talent and depth somewhat. This applies to the Sharks and Bulls too. On the coaching side I think that its the coaching specialists who are lacking.
— G-Man5000 (@GarthB40461897) May 31, 2025
@BokScrum1211: “Most of the Stormers squad aren’t international standard yet and that’s because of Dobson. He just wastes talent and makes them look amateur.”
Jannie Weyer: “There is no overall strategy or plan to which the Stormers are playing. But let us be honest, I don’t think they deserve to be even in quarters of the comp this year. Could it be that Dobson reached his peak and someone else must take them to the next level?”
Frik Brits: “Outplayed and outsmarted by the same team for the fifth time. Did we do any specific prep for this game, or is the Stormers just playing the same game plan vs everyone? Einstein said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”
Handre Naude: “Backline is uncoached and not up to it physically, missed Zas Ruan Nel and Willemse, Stormers seriously need a new hooker outside center and full-back.”
Henno Liebenberg: “Now it’s the coach’s fault? Not the lack of quality personnel? Pick one, please. This is the same coach that won a URC title. The Stormers’ playmakers looked lost and afraid to express themselves. Too many hot-headed personalities not willing to sacrifice shine for results.”
Ex-Springbok Breyton Paulse: “Man, this is hard to watch.”
Simon Oliphant: “Our defence was absolutely shocking!! I wore my Stormers jersey because I knew it would be the last time in a while. Despicable performance.”
@tyrescekyle: “Most of the Stormers ‘Bok fringe players’ showed why they get left out. Roos, Venter, Dweba, Gelant. Manie and Sacha could have also hurt their stock. They didn’t control the game at all.”
Paul Thiel: “That was as bad a Stormers performance as I have ever seen. No defence and clueless (Bok!) 10s.”
Lourens Rensburg: “I’m not a Stormers supporter, but loved watching them this year to see the brilliance of SachaFM, Willemse and a couple of others. BUT many of them played themselves out of Bok contention. Pathetic defence! Good thing for Willemse as he is banned.”
@Trav_HK: “I love the Stormers brand and willingness to keep the ball alive. Alas, knockout rugby needs game management and accuracy, two aspects that (sadly) many of the RSA teams currently lack. It’s a timely reminder as the Boks gear up. The old heads won’t be around forever.”
Rhyan Meyers: “Well done Glasgow, but don’t think you will win it this year. Stormers were poor in every way. Didn’t pitch up in defence or in attack. Story of their season, but still a good win for you.”
Boet Spencer: “The Stormers are losers with a much bigger budget and greater player resources.”
@fdaniels2602: “To all the guys rejoicing at the Stormers exit, just remember that they are still the most successful South African team of all time in the URC.”
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/despicable-stormers-performance-slammed-as-calls-made-for-ex-springboks-boss-to-take-charge
