VIDEO: Currie Cup to say goodbye to Western Province for good?
SPOTLIGHT: Stormers and Western Province supporters might have to brace themselves for more changes as the franchise attempts to reposition its brand.
In the last few years, the Cape Town franchise has undergone a massive transition – the most prominent being the move from Newlands Rugby Stadium to the more modern Cape Town Stadium.
The move has been accompanied by some growing pains in terms of the spectators.
However, it seems like the public is slowly warming up to the 58,000-capacity seater in Green Point.
Earlier this year, Red Disa Consortium concluded an equity deal to secure a controlling shareholding in Western Province Professional Rugby (Pty) Ltd.
The deal saw WPPR, the professional arm, renamed to Stormers Rugby (Pty) Ltd.
*FYI –> Why a name change was needed
At the moment the name change of the company has no impact on the names of the professional teams – Stormers in international competitions like the United Rugby Championship and Champions Cup, and Western Province for domestic competitions like the Currie Cup.
However speaking during a press conference at the Cape Town Stadium, Stormers CEO Johan Le Roux admitted he has discussed the idea of changing the name of the Currie Cup side to Stormers as well.
The change won’t be out of the ordinary, as the Sharks, Lions and Bulls all modified the name of their Currie Cup sides in recent years.
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“There has been a move across franchises to move your teams under one brand.
“I’ve seen the Sharks do it,” said Le Roux.
“It makes a lot of commercial sense to have one brand instead of multiple brands. So it is something we are looking at.
“[Stormers XV] is something to look at. I think we will all be traumatised not to see Western Province on TV anymore.
“It is not something that is on the table but it is something we have noted.”
While it will be another new phenomenon the supporters have to get used to and there will certainly be resistance, Le Roux pointed out that it is a ‘logical’ step.
“One brand is important and there are a lot of plans for the brand and I do think it’s diluted if you have more than one name.
“So, there is a lot of logic behind [the possible change] and it is something we will look at in a couple of months.”
It has not been an ideal Currie Cup campaign for Western Province.
Their slim chance of reaching the play-offs more or less ended after a 23-31 defeat to the Sharks at the Cape Town Stadium.
The Capetonians side will now hope they win both their two remaining fixtures against Pumas and Griquas and hope that the Cheetahs and Pumas don’t pick up any points.
