John Dobson recently stated that South African rugby would be "much poorer" if franchises were to exit the Investec Champions Cup.
“I think we were probably an amoeba’s fingernail away from being in the quarter-final this year, which showed some progress,” Dobson said, referring to the nail-biting 28-27 loss away to Toulon.”
“Fixtures like Leinster, La Rochelle, Harlequins, Toulouse or Toulon at home are massive inventory for the Stormers and for the people of Cape Town.”
“To have that taken away would be hellishly disappointing.”
Dobson dismissed rumours of a potential South African withdrawal, calling the competition "massive inventory" for the Stormers and the people of Cape Town. Dobson said that the team "absolutely loves" being part of the Champions Cup.
“Playing Toulon away is hard set-piece rugby and tough physical rugby. It’s different to Super Rugby.”
“I think South African teams playing in the URC and Champions Cup is great for the Springboks and World Cup preparation because it’s such tough rugby,” he said.
“I think for South African rugby, and certainly from a Stormers point of view, we absolutely love being part of it.”