Damian Willemse, who captains the Stormers against Harlequins in the Investec Champions Cup at Twickenham’s Stoop this afternoon, produced a pearler this week when chatting to the media about the team’s season and, particularly, Project 2029.
“The grass isn’t greener on the other side. This grass is greener where you water it — and that’s what we are doing."
And Willemse wasn’t referring to the playing surface at the DHL Stadium. The field is a mess — and has been since the ground was used for the World Supercross on December 13.
His reference was to the building of a squad and the confirmation of a settled coaching group, led by director of rugby John Dobson, with the goal being that by 2029 the Stormers sit at the global head table of the sport’s most elite clubs.
The Stormers, winners of the inaugural Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) and hosts of the final in the league’s second season, know that the big one in Europe is the Investec Champions Cup.
“Chasing the Star” is how players up north summarise the Champions Cup campaigns, every pre-season, and I had the privilege this season to spend a day in London interviewing players from the 24 competing clubs.
Fantasy of winning
Their desire to get the star is tangible. There are those with conviction, those with hope, and those who revel in the fantasy of winning the competition. The reality is that, in the preceding 30 years, just 13 clubs can claim a star, eight of which have won it more than once.
France’s Toulouse are the most successful. They’ve won the competition six times. Ireland’s Leinster have four wins, while France’s Toulon and England’s Saracens have three titles each.
Toulon, in winning an historic three successive titles in 2013, 2014 and 2015, did so with a strong Springbok contingent, headlined by Joe van Niekerk, Bakkies Botha, Danie Rossouw, Juan Smith and Bryan Habana.
Saracens, in their title wins, also had big-name Springboks in the mix. Lock Botha and winger Habana were named in the competition’s greatest ever XV — as voted for by fans on the EPCR’s official digital platforms — and many South African players can claim to be a part of the winning star legacy.
As a collective, going past the quarterfinals of the competition has proved elusive for the South African clubs, whose participation is in its fourth season.
Winning first stars
The brutality of the competition structure, aligned to teams having to compete in the URC, Top 14, and Prem at the same time, exposes those clubs with player depth, squad restrictions, or any form of vulnerability.
Toulouse and Toulon, in very different ways, have enjoyed success, with La Rochelle and Bordeaux using a similar formula in winning their first stars in the past three years.
Leinster are the benchmark of harnessing and investing in homegrown talent to build the most formidable club team, which at one stage, doubled as the Irish national team.
Toulouse and Bordeaux have all benefitted from long-term planning, fantastic academy-type structures, and a potent scouting programme. The shorter route, taken by Toulon and, to an extent, La Rochelle, was to buy a World XV made up of foreigners and the best of France.
Clubs must have two squads capable of winning to balance the demands of competition in two different and demanding competitions.
Local is lekker
Dobson’s contract extension to 2029 speaks to the club ownership’s vision and investment of “local being lekker”.
Homegrown players, the best of them, have committed to the Stormers until 2029, with Willemse a leader in this regard, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Jurie Matthee locking themselves in until 2029 — and the best of former Stormers in Wilco Louw (prop) and Siya Kolisi (flank) returning to the club next season.
The best young talent has been signed, and the best schoolboy talent within the province from the class of 2025 has chosen the Stormers.
Dobson, to quote club owner Johan le Roux, is the embodiment of the Stormers. He was born, raised and schooled in Cape Town. He played club and provincial rugby in the province. He gets the people and the province.
Dobson’s life CV gives the Stormers an advantage in chasing a first star and explains why Project 29 is more a reality than a fantasy.
Mark Keohane is the founder of keo.co.za, a multiple award-winning sports writer, and the digital content director at Habari Media. Twitter: @mark_keohane
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