Fleck urges WP to fight to keep Dobson

Cape Town - Stormers coach Robbie Fleck has urged the union to do all they can to keep hold of Western Province coach John Dobson.

Reports on Monday confirmed that Dobson had been linked to Irish club, Connacht. 

Fleck was not aware of the link when asked by Sport24, but he encouraged the powers that be at the Western Province Rugby Union (WPRU) to pull out all the stops to keep Dobson. 

"John is a highly successful coach at Western Province. He's a home-grown man ... obviously we're going to do whatever it takes to keep him," said Fleck.

"It's the first time I've heard about that and I won't speak on behalf of John, but on behalf of Western Province he is a fantastic coach and he has been extremely successful.

"Obviously we would like to keep him."

Dobson won the Currie Cup with Western Province in 2017, enhancing his reputation as one of the brightest young coaches in the country. 

Connacht, meanwhile, have reportedly shortlisted Dobson alongside former Brumbies and Australian Sevens coach Andy Friend. 

The Irish club sacked coach Kieran Keane last week after they finished sixth in Conference A in the PRO14, winning just 7 of 21 matches.