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'I know Harlequins are after a couple of our forwards' - Stormers address Siya Kolisi rumours

Siya Kolisi (Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

Stormers head coach John Dobson has addressed rumours around the future of World Cup-winning loose forward Siya Kolisi that have circulated in the media in recent weeks.

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Kolisi, one of the premier flankers in world rugby, is often the subject of transfer rumours, and while Dobson tried to pour water on the most recent rumours of a potential exit, he didn’t go as far as fully extinguishing them.

Media reports have suggested that Kolisi – whose affairs are being managed by the Roc Nation group – could be lured to the Sharks. He had been linked with a move to Saracens in 2019, but move north in the immediate future appears unlikely. Kolisi will presumably be eager to stay in South Africa, at least until the end of British and Irish Lions tour next summer.

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Zebo calls out WR over their response to the Matera scandal:

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Zebo calls out WR over their response to the Matera scandal:

“There is a lot of rumour at the moment and there is a lot of smoke,” Dobson told media in SA this week. “There is so much smoke that you suspect there must be a fire. Nobody has told me officially that they are going anywhere yet.”

Dobson also suggested that Gallagher Premiership side Harlequins were targeting their forwards.

“I know that Harlequins are after a couple of our forwards. There was an article about Siya being in demand elsewhere in South Africa.

“‘Siya is our leader. I literally asked Siya (on 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.”

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There’s been a certain amount of upheaval behind the scenes at the Western Province, the union behind Super Rugby franchise, the Stormers. Marco V Masotti’s American consortium, MVM Holdings, has been in talks with the WPRFU over a partnership, but it has been rumoured that the consortium may now be interested in the rival Sharks. As a result it has been suggested that a number of the Stormers’ senior players are unwilling to negotiate contract extensions beyond next year’s Lions tour, because of the uncertainty over the MVM deal.

WPRFU President Zelt Marais was adamant that Kolisi will not depart Cape Town. “Siya Kolisi is going nowhere,” the WPRFU boss told Rugby 365 this week. “Western Province has invested heavily in Siya Kolisi – possibly more than any other player – over the years, since [his] Under-19 [days] and is committed to keeping Siya Kolisi at least until the 2027 World Cup.”

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JW 1 hour ago
Scott Robertson explains the new halves pairing for the All Blacks ahead of France

More indecision and excuses from Razor.


You've given a spot at 6 to Finau whom you haven't even had the courage to use off the bench in the last two games. Now the young enforcer is going into a big much with no rugby, we should expect a similar result to how Aumua struggled to impact a game after he'd hardly been given any chances of the bench either.


Weve now dropped a back three player who also wasn't even given any game time off the bench for someone coming in cold when they really need to have been playing constantly to perform at their best. There are just so many better pictures that should have been present rather than this mickey mouse selection.


I really hope Finau can overcome this, it won't be the first time he's had to. How is the bench even made up? Could you not just have included these changes in the article as well? I actually like BB coming back in, it highlights how courageous he is after sitting out through another concussion that could just as easily sent him back into months of symptoms again.


Dmac was also off his game last week, as was Ratima, with the poor platform Razor and his team have been setting the players up with. He needs to freedom to clear his mind from the clutter that saw him make so many bad decisions last week. It will still probably be a net loss for the team performance not having him on from the start but it should be better for them in the long run if he's allowed to just come on late and play his game trying to claw things back for the team.


With Roigard starting that might prove an outlet for the team to actually get on top first however. Along with Ardie busting a gut in his new role and emptying the tank by halftime, and being replaced by another new star, might mean that Dmac is just icing on the cake at the end.

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Flankly 1 hour ago
Jake White: If I was England coach, I’d have been livid

I am not an England fan, but still very disappointed at what Borthwick is serving up. Regardless of winning or losing, they should be executing the basics at a world class level. That was the reason they replaced Eddie with Steve. After two years England has not built the solid foundations that the RFU were presumably after. Its hard to see it as anything other than a coaching problem.


Having said that I really hope that Rassie has got his team fired up for the game. The Boks at maximum intensity and with no crises (eg red cards) would be expected to win this game. But it does not take much reduction in pressure for Bok teams to lose. The Boks lose when complacency sets in.


On Felix Jones, my guess is that they can't agree on a non-compete so they kept him on payroll for the duration of the Nov tests. The risk was that he would be hired by Rassie or Razor prior to the tests.


As relates to law tweaking, it feels like WR are more comfortable discussing changes in laws than insisting on implementation. For my money the biggest thing they could do is to be strict and consistent in officiating ruck behavior. In every game we see flopping, lazy lying, clearing of unbound players, making plays while off your feet, delays in placing the ball, side entry, offside line infringements, and similar nonsense. It's really really bad, and the WR attitude seems to be that we should turn a blind eye in pursuit of "flowing rugby". In truth it's just boring, because it randomizes the outcome.

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