Dobson was appointed as the technical director of Italian National Championship of Excellence side Roma for the 2009–10 season. He was due to coach new Italian franchise Praetorians Roma in the 2010–11 Celtic League, but their inclusion in the European competition never materialised, with Benetton Treviso being included instead. He returned to South Africa to guide UCT Ikey Tigers the final of the 2010 Varsity Cup, where a repeat of the 2008 final also saw the same result, with Maties winning their third title in succession.