John Dobson has urged his DHL Stormers side to stay disciplined and composed as he anticipates a bit of niggle from Munster in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship final.
The Stormers will look to defend their Vodacom United Rugby Championship title by getting a first-ever win over Munster in the grand final on Saturday evening.
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The Irish side brought the Stormers’ long winning streak at DHL Stadium to an end with a historic round-robin victory in April, becoming the first away side to win in Cape Town since the Lions in December 2021.
The previous meeting between the two sides featured plenty of off-the-ball action, with Marvin Orie and Joseph Dweba in particular getting riled by streetwise Munster captain Peter O’Mahony.
Ahead of the final, Stormers coach Dobson said that it has been strongly emphasised that the hosts avoid giving away needless penalties in heated situations in the final.
“Look, in that last game, there was some poor behaviour by us. A hand in the face…Marvin or Joe got involved. So there is going to be that element,” said Dobson.
“It’s something we have chatted about as a group. We can’t give away penalties to Munster. I don’t want to say there will be cheap shots, but they will try to get under our skin a bit. We have got guys with trip switches, that’s the truth.
“It’s a heck of an important aspect and something we have spoken about a lot. We do expect natural niggle. Our reaction to things, not just against Munster, we had it against Benetton and Connacht.
“It would be rugby suicide for us,” Dobson added. “It will be an area with a lot of focus for us.”
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