Stormers sidestep WPRFU boardroom drama

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: The Stormers have opted to steer clear of the latest boardroom developments at the Western Province Rugby Football Union (WPRFU).

The boardroom conflict between the WPRFU and its professional arm, WP Professional Rugby (Pty) Ltd has been making headlines for the last couple of months.

The ugly spat has led to SA Rugby invoking its constitutional power to take administrative control of the union on Tuesday.

The advice was provided following a decision by the Executive Council (Exco) of the South African Rugby Union on Monday.

Experienced former SA Rugby CEO, Rian Oberholzer, has been appointed as an administrator and will assume oversight of the union’s affairs immediately.

His remit includes supervision of the operational affairs of Western Province (Pty) Ltd, which manages the professional playing teams of the Stormers and Western Province.

SA Rugby President Mark Alexander assured supporters that the appointment of an administrator was to stabilise the Union’s governance and operational business and was not to have any direct influence on Stormers affairs.

Fronting the media on Tuesday, Stormers assistant coach Dawie Snyman reiterated Alexander's sentiment, stating the team are solely focus on rugby during their four-week tour in Europe.

“We are focusing on the rugby side of it,” Snyman said.

“What needs to happen there, is not up to us.

"We can answer rugby questions and focus on that side of things, the other guys will focus on the off-field stuff”

Great signs

The Stormers have a chance to end their four-week tour on a high note when they face the Dragons at Rodney Parade on Friday.

At the weekend, the Stormers secured a 20-20 draw against Edinburgh.

The Cape Town side delivered one of their best performance on tour - displaying impressive attacking prowess.

However, they failed to produce a full 80 minutes.

"There are some great signs, we scoring some tries and making nice inroads when we have the ball," Snyman said.

"There are one of two opportunities we still missing out on, however, I think the players understand how we want to play and they are bringing that to the field,"

He added: "We have identified our tactical kicking as a major work on.

"In the match against Edinburgh, we were not good enough. When you look at the stats we had 35 percent possession and a lot of that came from not having those contestable.

"It is a big part of how the guys play in Europe, so we have to better in that area,"

The Stormers will name their team on Thursday, October 14.

@rugby365com