John Dobson has guided Vodacom United Rugby Championship holders DHL Stormers to a second successive Grand Final and underlined his status as one of the outstanding coaches in world rugby.
Just under a year after the Stormers beat the Vodacom Bulls in a pulsating title showdown, Dobson's players are back for more.
While he would be the first person to deflect praise away from himself, Dobson's achievements cannot be understated.
Stormers also made their mark in Europe this season as South African sides entered the fray, reaching the Heineken Champions Cup quarter-finals before bowing out to Exeter.
Dobson readily admitted Stormers "loved the experience" of challenging themselves in Europe while their impressively-consistent URC form saw them finish third behind Leinster and Ulster in the 18-game regular season, losing just four matches.
Dobson is steeped in rugby. A son of the former referee and rugby writer Paul Dobson, who was the recipient of the World Rugby Referee Award in 2012, sport was always in the family.
As a player he was involved at Western Province and featured for clubs in Portugal and Italy but, on returning to Cape Town 13 years ago, his coaching career soon began to move through the gears.
He made an immediate impression, coaching Western Province's Under-21 side, masterminding their victory in the u/21 Provincial Championship, which was a feat he repeated three years later.
He was also handed the reins of the Vodacom Cup team, winning that competition for the first and only time in the Western Province union’s history in 2012 as players like Bryan Habana, Eben Etzebeth and current Stormers skipper Steven Kitshoff excelled.
Dobson led Western Province to the Vodacom Cup playoffs for five consecutive years and, despite admitting to having had offers to coach abroad, his loyalty paid off when he was placed in charge of the union’s Currie Cup side in 2015, taking over from future Springboks coach Allister Coetzee, who had departed for a job in Japan.
His first season at the helm saw Western Province reach a fourth consecutive Premier Division final, where they lost to the Golden Lions before victory over the Cell C Sharks in Durban helped them take the title in 2017.
They finished runners-up again in 2018 and Dobson’s rise through the Western Province ranks was complete in 2020 when he was identified as Robbie Fleck’s successor as Stormers head coach.
The success that has accompanied Dobson throughout his coaching career continued, with Stormers lifting the URC crown by toppling the Bulls and then predictably not resting on their laurels for one minute.
The 2022/23 URC campaign has seen the Stormers claim some notable wins - 46-19 at the Sharks, three times against the Bulls and 40-8 against the Emirates Lions - in addition to an impressive 22-22 draw against Leinster in Dublin.
Back-to-back titles would be a special feat indeed but Dobson knows more than anyone how big a challenge Munster will pose.