Dobson 'impressed' by experienced Blommetjies after Stormers debut

Stormers head coach John Dobson had nothing but praise for flyhalf Clayton Blommetjies ahead of their United Rugby Championship (URC) encounter against Edinburgh.

The Stormers host Edinburgh Rugby at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday for their second URC game of the 2022/23 season.

The defending champions got their URC campaign up and running with a 38-15 win over Irish side Connacht in Stellenbosch last week.

Blommetjies, who previously represented the Bulls and Cheetahs, joined the Stormers after the departure of Warrick Gelant, who starred at fullback for the title-winning Stormers.

Dobson felt it essential that it had to be a 'like-for-like' replacement when Gelant confirmed his move to France.

"We looked at options but for me Clayton was the closest we would get to what Warrick had given us in strike power," Dobson told the club's official website.

"I would say Warrick has the edge on out-and-out pace, but outside of that the two players are very similar when assessing their strongest qualities. They both have a similar attacking mind-set and they both gelled very quickly with Manie (Libbok) as our No.10.

"I was particularly impressed with Clayton against Connacht because of the efficiency of his all-round game, his composure and the experience he has from playing 200 professional matches.

"He combined very well with Manie and his presence meant we could still do the same things we did on attack when playing Warrick."

Dobson said it was also encouraging to sign a home-grown regional talent, who wanted to return to the Western Cape and be a part of something unique and special.

"We are a team made up of so many players from this region, some who have been in the professional system since they became seniors and others, who were