Stormers to announce four more coaching staff contract extensions

IOL Sport understands Rito Hlungwani, Dawie Snyman, Norman Laker and Labeeb Levy have all agreed to four-year contract extensions. Seen here: Stormers forwards coach Rito Hlungwani during the United Rugby Championship training session. © Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix

IOL Sport understands Rito Hlungwani, Dawie Snyman, Norman Laker and Labeeb Levy have all agreed to four-year contract extensions. Seen here: Stormers forwards coach Rito Hlungwani during the United Rugby Championship training session. © Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix

Published Feb 25, 2023

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Cape Town - The Stormers will announce four more contract extensions among their coaches in the coming week even after attempts from outside to lure some of them away from Cape Town.

IOL Sport understands Rito Hlungwani, Dawie Snyman, Norman Laker and Labeeb Levy have all agreed to four-year contract extensions.

This will keep the Cape side's coaching staff together until at least 2027 after head coach John Dobson signed on for another four years this past week.

Hlungwani, forwards coach, apparently prickled the interest of the Lions in Johannesburg according to IOL sources after the stellar season he had.

Dobson piqued the interest of a Tier-1 national side ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.

But the Stormers coach will be staying put alongside Hlungwani and the other assistants because they still have a project to finish with the Stormers.

It will also be difficult for them to walk away from the environment and culture they have helped establish in Cape Town after the financial turmoil they went through a year ago.

The Stormers already have a United Rugby Championship (URC) title under their coaching staff but are striving to become a better team.

Dobson said in an interview this week that they did not want to be seen as a one-season wonder and that they're keen to back up their performance of last season.

He also praised the work of his assistants saying he's only the conductor and that they play a massive role in how the team is performing.

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The Stormers are one of the best defensive sides in the URC with Laker in charge of their stingy defence. Snyman as backline coach has kept the Stormers' attack pumping and scoring tries, especially on the counter-attack, while the silky offloads and ball-handling by the forwards and backs alike are thanks to Levy who is their skills coach and performance analyst.

Hlungwani and Dobson have built and are continuing to build a formidable pack of forwards who even in the absence of Springbok players are outmuscling their opponents.

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Put this recipe together and you currently have a Stormers side full of running rugby with a pack of forwards creating that go-forward ball for space.

The Stormers are preparing for a rematch with the Sharks (kick-off) in a week in Cape Town where they can clinch the SA Shield of the URC and maintain their second spot on the overall log of the competition.

@Leighton_K

IOL Sport