SA Tour Diary | Jamie Dobie

• 21 Apr 2022

As Glasgow Warriors prepare for a crucial URC double-header in South Africa, Jamie Dobie takes you behind the scenes in camp...

It’s definitely been a good start to the trip. All of our travel went smoothly, which is exactly what you want. Obviously a couple of long haul flights are a bit of a different start to the week than we’d usually have, but we’ve had a good couple of sessions to get the travel out of our legs, loosen up and get set for tomorrow’s match. It’s not a bad place to be, either – the setup here in Stellenbosch is absolutely top-class. We’ve got outdoor pitches maybe 200m away that we can walk to, a recovery suite, pools – we’re really getting looked after so well. We’re also pretty close to the town, too, so to be able to get out and explore the town, get some food and so on, that’s been really good.

Normally I’m not the best sleeper on planes, to be honest! The way it worked out really helped, though, because we flew from Glasgow to Dubai through the afternoon and evening so that helped the body clock. I watched a couple of films on the way out there – I got through King Richard, the Will Smith film about the Williams sisters and their dad, and then also a documentary about Michael Bisping, the UFC fighter, both of which were really good. We then got some food in Dubai Airport, and thankfully I got some decent sleep on the flight down to Cape Town!

I’m rooming with Ross [Thompson], which is always decent. We room together quite a lot on away trips, he’s a pretty easy guy to room with. He’s got some uni work to be getting on with, he’s got to knuckle down so I’m not annoying him too much! I’m glad I’m not rooming with Murphy [Walker], though. I feel like he’d take up a lot of space with his stuff in the room – Ross and I keep the place nice and tidy. Murphy’s a great guy to go out with for dinner and so on, but I’ll keep rooming with Ross, thanks!

Stellenbosch itself is a great wee place. We’ve been able to get out and go for dinner a couple of times, which has been really good. A few of us went to a grill last night and had some unbelievable steaks, they were amazing. There are a couple of good sushi places the boys have been raving about, but I’ve not tried them yet. That might be one for week two…

Incoming ?#WhateverItTakes ⚔️?️ pic.twitter.com/OjADvdNskl
— Glasgow Warriors (@GlasgowWarriors) April 21, 2022

Everyone knows that the Stormers are a quality side, especially at home. We know it’s going to be a challenge, but we know we can’t drop off at any point. Our first half performances have been consistently better than our second half displays, so it’s key to stay in the fight for 80 minutes. It’ll be the first time I’ve been out to South Africa since I made my debut for Glasgow, too – that was a shock to the system, that day! It’s good to have that experience to look back on, though, and we know exactly what we need to do tomorrow evening.

Jamie’s column will return next week…