John Dobson says the decision to consolidate the Stormers brand over Western Province reflects the reality of modern professional rugby.
Stormers Rugby announced last Friday that all its professional teams will play under the Stormers banner, including in the Currie Cup as the Stormers XXIII.
The decision means the end of an era as there will no longer be a Western Province in South Africa’s oldest rugby competition, which dates back to 1892.
Only amateur rugby teams under the Western Province RFU will continue to play under the Western Province brand.
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Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Dobson said: “I grew up supporting Province. My family were season ticket holders and I first went to watch Province play in 1976 or ’77 at Newlands, so it means a lot to me.”
Dobson explained that the changing landscape of rugby made running two separate brands increasingly difficult to sustain.
“The reality is the Currie Cup has been in decline for some time. Commercially it became very difficult to support two separate professional brands.
“The writing was on the wall. We resisted the longest. The Bulls, Lions and Sharks have been the Bulls, Lions and Sharks for years.
“We probably held on longer because the Western Province tradition and ethos mean so much. I think we did very well to hold out as long as we did.”
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Dobson used a wine analogy to describe the relationship between the two brand identities.
“The Stormers are like the label on the bottle, but the terroir – the land the wine comes from – is Western Province. You can’t separate that. That heritage will always be there.”
Dobson also pointed to the new-look home kit that was introduced following the rebrand at the start of the season, which features the iconic blue and white hoops, black shorts, black socks and a disa on the back of the jersey.
“There’s been a real ostensible, obvious effort by Stormers Rugby to look more like Western Province,” he said.
“When the designs first came out, somebody said white shorts and it was ‘no, it must be black shorts’. It’s curious because nobody else wears black shorts with a blue and white top, and with the socks looking the same and the disa on the back.”
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Dobson added that aligning the professional teams under the Stormers banner strengthened the pathway for young players.
“For the junior teams it’s great because they now aspire directly to become Stormers.”
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
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