Damian Willemse, who captains the Stormers against Harlequins in the Investec Champions Cup at Twickenham’s Stoop this afternoon, produced a pearler this week when chatting to the media about the team’s season and, particularly, Project 2029. “The grass isn’t greener on the other side. This grass is greener where you water it — and that’s what we are doing.” And Willemse wasn’t referring to the playing surface at the DHL Stadium.
The field is a mess — and has been since the ground was used for the World Supercross on December 13. His reference was to the building of a squad and the confirmation of a settled coaching group, led by director of rugby John Dobson, with the goal being that by 2029 the Stormers sit at the global head table of the sport’s most elite clubs. The Stormers, winners of the inaugural Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) and hosts of the final in the league’s second season, know that the big one in Europe is the Investec Champions Cup.
“Chasing the Star” is how players up north summarise the Champions Cup campaigns, every pre-season, and I had the privilege this season to spend a day in London interviewing players from the 24 competing clubs. Their desire to get the star is tangible. There are those with conviction, those with hope, and those who revel in the fantasy of winning the competition.
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The reality is that, in the preceding 30 years, just 13 clubs can claim a star, eight of which have won it more than once. France’s Toulouse are the most successful. They’ve won the competition six times.
Ireland’s Leinster have four wins, while France’s Toulon and England’s Saracens have three titles each. Toulon, in winning an historic three successive titles in 2013, 2014 and 2015, did so with a strong Springbok contingent, headlined by Joe van Niekerk, Bakkies Botha, Danie Rossouw, Juan Smith and Bryan Habana. Saracens, in their title wins, also had big-name Springboks in the mix.
Lock Botha and winger Habana were named in the competition’s greatest ever XV — as voted for by fans on the EPCR’s official digital platforms — and many South African players can claim to be a part of the winning star legacy. As a collective, going past the quarterfinals of the competition has proved elusive for the South African clubs, whose participation is in its fourth season. The brutality of the competition structure, aligned to teams having to compete in the URC, Top 14, and Prem at the same time, exposes those clubs with player depth, squad restrictions, or any form of vulnerability.
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