CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa's Stormers have confirmed coach Robbie Fleck will leave the team at the end of the current Super Rugby season, to be replaced by Western Province’s John Dobson.
Fleck is in his fourth campaign in charge of the Cape Town-based side, but has not managed to take them past the quarterfinals of the Southern Hemisphere club championship.
He was appointed following Eddie Jones’ brief two-week stay at Newlands in 2015, after which the latter moved to England. Fleck led the side to the knockout stages in his first two Super Rugby seasons before a disappointing 11th-place finish in 2018.
Dobson is the current coach of the Western Province team that plays in the domestic Currie Cup competition, leading the team to the trophy in 2017 and a runner-up place last year.
"In addition to ensuring the Stormers' success on the field, one of Dobson's key focus areas will be driving transformation in the Stormers' future coaching and management teams," Western Province Rugby Group CEO Paul Zacks said in a media statement on Tuesday.
The union have also announced that Director of Rugby Gert Smal will depart at the end of this month for Japan, where he will join Toyota Verblitz, who are coached by 2007 World Cup winner Jake White.
(Reporting By Nick Said; Editing by Hugh Lawson)