Stormers fans line up to watch Willemse
TheStormers home page will host a World XV in Cape Town next weekend. The quality of La Rochelle is the equal of a Test team.
The Springboks play the All Blacks at the Cape Town Stadium on September 7. That match will sell out in minutes when those tickets go on sale. The Springboks’ two-Test series against Ireland, to be played in Pretoria and Durban, sold out in 30 minutes.
The post-Covid apathy to watching live sport in South Africa has finally passed, and fans are hungry to get to the stadium, especially in South African rugby. The Stormers supporters, over the past three seasons, have consistently led the numbers when it comes to stadium attendance.
The Cape side set a new United Rugby Championship attendance record with 56,600 watching last season’s final against Ireland’s Munster team. That crowd remains the largest yet at the stadium, and was bigger than the 51,000 that watched the Springboks win the three-Test series against Wales in 2022.
Their appeal at the arena is consistent with the crowd numbers when they played Super Rugby at Newlands. The venue is not what seduces the Stormers fans it is the Stormers’ style of play and the players bringing to life coach John Dobson’s vision and strategy.
The current Stormers squad includes some of the sport’s most exciting players.
They also have, in Damian Willemse, the hottest property in world rugby. Willemse has played 15, 12 and 10 for the Stormers and he would not be out of place on the wing. He is the most naturally talented back in the game and the most versatile.
New Zealand’s Jordie Barrett is a close second but, for me, Willemse because of his ability to play in the back three, in the midfield and at flyhalf is the most complete. His form for the Stormers has been red-hot, and he alone should be filling stadiums in Cape Town. Such is Willemse’s impact in matches.
Willemse’s form for the Stormers has been redhot, and he alone should be filling stadiums in Cape Town. Such is Willemse’s impact in matches
Cape-based rugby fans are blessed to call him one of their own, with Willemse a product of the famed Paul Roos Gymnasium in Stellenbosch. His five-year deal, signed a year ago, remains the biggest compliment to what Dobson has built with the Stormers.
The best rugby player in the world, who could have named his price to any club on the planet, chose to stay home. Dobson this week was confirmed as the director of rugby, with the head coach role part of his portfolio. It is a coup for the Stormers and their aspirations to be the best rugby club in the sport.
It is also an immediate statement from the Stormers’ new owners, the Red Disa Consortium.
La Rochelle, the back-to-back Champions Cup winners, were in Cape Town in December when the Red Disa equity offer was approved by the Competition Commission.
It all speaks to a winning recipe, and the Stormers players rewarded their new owners with a thrilling 21-20 win in the league match. Manie LIbbok’s touchline conversion with the last kick of the game produced the win.
Dobson back then was taken aback by criticism of the win, given the international strength of La Rochelle. “Do people realise who we have just beaten?” he said to me in a chat the next day.
It was more a statement than a question. For those who need a reminder: La Rochelle started with 13 Test players, with eight of them French internationals. They also had a French and Argentinean Test prop among the substitutes and the incredible Fijian flanker Levani Botia.
This same World XV are back in Cape Town next Saturday. It is going to be spectacular.