Dobson: Stormers won’t pay big bucks for Lions star
REACTION: Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson has rubbished claims that the Cape Town outfit is prepared to fork out ‘big bucks’ for the services of Lions scrumhalf Haashim Pead.
Pead, who has been linked with a move to the Stormers in recent weeks, is under contract with the Lions until 2028.
This week, Rugby365 reported that the Stormers were set to walk away from a potential deal after the Lions reportedly made some unreasonable demands.
The Stormers are eager to add Pead to their scrumhalf stocks after Imad Khan suffered an ACL injury against the All Blacks in the Greatest Rivalry series last month.
That injury is expected to keep Khan out until April next year.
Dobson admitted they have been pushing to get Pead on board. However, he dismissed the transfer figures that have been circulating in recent weeks.
“On the transfer fee, the Siya [Kolisi] thing is complete hogwash; we didn’t pay a transfer fee for Siya,” he first explained.
Moving on to Pead, he said: “Haashim is a guy we would like at the Stormers, and he would like to come to the Stormers, but he’s under contract with the Lions.
“There are conversations happening, certainly not at the figures that have been quoted – nothing like them.”
The story continues below…
#NEWS: Dobson reveals latest on Malherbe after Stormers squad omission 👇#URC #Stormers #SouthAfrica #Springboks #RWC2027 https://t.co/F2NeNGW3Ia
— Rugby365 (@rugby365com) September 17, 2026
Pead has struggled to get game time in Johannesburg, with a number of quality scrumhalves currently ahead of him.
Springbok Morné van den Berg will be the first-choice pick when he returns from national duty, while there is still Nico Steyn, Asad Moos, Layton Horn and Zian Cilliers who had a promising Currie Cup campaign.
In terms of minutes played, Pead clocked just over 200 in the United Rugby Championship last season and featured in the Currie Cup semifinal against the Griquas a fortnight ago.
“Sometimes a player can look to buy out his contract or come to an agreement with his union,” Dobson added.
“Haashim is employed by the Lions; he’s got a relationship with the Lions. We’re not going to the Lions asking for Haashim Pead.
“We would love to have him if he were to become available; whether he becomes available is a decision between him and the Lions.
“There’s some smoke; I wouldn’t say it’s a full-blown fire because we’ve told Hash we’d love to have him, but we absolutely want to respect his contract and arrangement with him and the Lions.
“We’re not paying big bucks and every number that has been quoted is wrong.”
#SquadAnnouncement: Bok stars headline Stormers’ 56-man squad for URC and Champions Cup 👇#URC #Stormers #SouthAfrica #Springboks https://t.co/t2F3VWAxmR
— Rugby365 (@rugby365com) September 17, 2026
While the Pead situation hangs in the balance, the Stormers will still be well stocked in the No.9 department.
Dobson has named Stefan Ungerer, Imad Khan, Cobus Reinach, Ezekiel Ngobeni and youngster Jayden Brits in his 56-man squad.
The Stormers boss said he’s been pleased with the progress made by Ngobeni and Brits.
“We’re super happy with Jayden and Ezekiel.
“We’ve also got the cooperation agreement with the Seattle Seawolves, and Andre Warner, who has played for Racing 92, the Bulls, and Lions, has been training with us because it’s their off-season.
“We could do a loan agreement for him; he’s been training with us and was excellent in that friendly against the Bulls.
“And then there’s Cobus [Reinach] coming back; I think it’s quite a nice spread.”
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