Western Province head coach John Dobson has emphasised that the
transfer rumours surrounding a few of his players have not been
disruptive to the team. DYLAN JACK reports.
Province are going into Friday’s match against the Pumas at Newlands
under pressure after two successive last-minute losses to the Lions and
Vodacom Bulls have damaged their hopes of securing a home semi-final in
the Currie Cup.
However, with a number of senior players seeing their contracts come
to an end after the British & Irish Lions series next year, there
are plenty of transfer rumours swirling around the Cape side.
On Tuesday, Netwerk24 reported that should the potential
deal between American consortium MVM Holdings and the Sharks go through,
someone such as Province and Bok captain Siya Kolisi – a high-profile
Roc Nation representative – could be drawn to move to Durban.
Rumours of Damian Willemse being a high-profile target for the Bulls
started as early as April this year and have not gone away, while Dobson
confirmed that promising lock David Meihuizen is the subject of a
big-money investment as Scotland’s next project player.
‘There is a lot of rumour at the moment and there is a lot of smoke,’
Dobson said during an online media conference on Wednesday, when asked
about the rumours. ‘There is so much smoke that you suspect there must
be a fire. Nobody has told me officially that they are going anywhere
yet.
‘I know that Harlequins are after a couple of our forwards. There was
an article yesterday about Siya being in demand elsewhere in South
Africa. There is the perpetual rumour about Damian Willemse to the
Bulls. There is a lot of smoke, but the window isn’t open for those
players for another couple of months.
‘David is different. He’s not a guy trying to run off his contract.
He has got to make a call on his future. Obviously, I haven’t explored
it in detail yet, but he is eligible for England and Scotland. He is in
high demand from Scotland. There have been informal approaches via his
agent. In Scotland, if you get a 2,08m and 123kg player, that’s a big
unit. I know he qualifies for England and Scotland.
‘Siya is our leader,’ Dobson said when asked about the Kolisi
rumours. ‘I literally asked Siya yesterday [Tuesday] if we need to have a
chat and he said, “Let’s get through Friday”, which is the responsible
and mature thing. I don’t think there is anything formal. There can be
nothing formal until the contracting window starts. At this stage, I
would think the Siya thing is just smoke.’
Despite the constant rumours surrounding the Province players, Dobson
said he has no doubt in their ability to stay focused on the Currie
Cup.
‘Obviously, you want to focus just on the rugby. Our group really is
tight. I have no doubt that they are focused on the competition. That’s
not the reason we lost the last two games.
‘You have to be realistic. I can’t wait until next year and David
Meihuizen comes to me and says he got 30 minutes in the whole Currie
Cup. I have to be cognisant of that.
‘As with regard to other approaches and contractual issues and people
from other unions wanting players, that window is closed now. It’s not
something I am overly worried about now. It’s not something we are
actively dealing with. We can’t have the situation where the guys are
coming off contract late next year or after the Lions series and for
reasons beyond our control they leave. Let’s say JD Schickerling, for
example, goes – I can’t have a situation where I haven’t brought David
Meihuizen through.
‘We have to make sure we are bringing through the next tier. I think
we have done remarkably well, despite disappointing results over the
last two games. With respect to guys like Leon Lyons, Sazi Sandi, Nama
Xaba or David Meihuizen and Marcel Theunissen, we have exposed a lot of
guys. It is part of our plan. We are going to be playing in a new
competition and many competitions next year and we have got a lot of
players coming out of contract next year, so I have to create more depth
in the squad.
‘Obviously, the primary focus is winning, creating more depth in the
squad and creating an environment where players want to stay at this
union is an important part of our journey. Unfortunately, adapting our
playing style is also part of this because we are going to be playing in
a different competition.
‘In answer to the question, it isn’t disruptive. The only formal chat
I have had is with David and that’s because Scotland are offering him
an absolute fortune and he is a guy we want to keep here.’