Tetchiness pushed aside as Dobbo welcomes Jake back: 'He adds so much to the landscape'

Their professional relationship might've been a bit tetchy over the past year or so, but Stormers coach John Dobson gleefully welcomed his Bulls counterpart Jake White back to the fold for Saturday's highly anticipated north-south URC derby at Loftus.

White's emergency surgery for a life-threatening abdominal issue and subsequent successful recovery starkly put into focus the folly of taking the game too seriously. White himself has proclaimed on various forums that he resumes his duties as director of rugby at Loftus with newfound perspective.

For Dobson, the hope is that both sets of supporters will forego a perception that the two men harbour a mutual dislike, especially since the Bulls haven't been able to beat the Capetonians since the inception of the URC.

"Ja flip, what Jake's been through puts the rugby into perspective a bit," the Stormers mentor said on Friday.

"It's great to have him back."

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Hearteningly, White's return added a wholesome element to the build-up of a nearly 85-year rivalry that truly feels like the good ol' days.

And the former Springbok coach's own insistence on not dwelling on his own trials during the week has merely shined the spotlight brighter on the rugby.

"I’ve got to be careful because I don’t want it to be misinterpreted. In my time here as director of rugby, the biggest games have been against the Sharks. But this one is a little bit like it used to be.

"There’s lots on it and there’s a big crowd coming. Our backs are against the wall. All I hear is that we have never beaten the Stormers in the URC, and that we have lost four in a row."

Bulls

15 David Kriel, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Wandi