'Western Province' to change name to 'Stormers'?
"The upside of this is that people will no longer call the team Western Problems,” quips Rugby365 Editor Jan de Koning.
Lester Kiewit speaks to Jan De Koning, Editor at Rugby365.
Are the days of shouting “PROVINCE!” from the stands at Currie Cup games a thing of the past?
It seems that way, as Western Province Rugby enters a phase of evolution.
At a press conference at Cape Town Stadium recently, Stormers Rugby CEO Johan le Roux announced that they are considering dropping the name of the 'Western Province' team for the Currie Cup moving forward.
The name change will happen eventually but how, when and other details around it are unclear, says De Koning.
De Koning predicts that the name will change to 'Stormers'.
As expected with changes like this, some Western Province fans are not delighted.
De Koning says it will be a 'painful process' for long-term fans but the Western Province badge and the players will still be there... it's just 'evolution'.
The possible name change is a branding decision, says De Koning.
"It makes a lot of commercial sense to have one brand instead of multiple brands and is something the team is looking at," said Le Roux in an interview with Rugby 365.
At the moment the name change has no impact on the names of the professional teams: Stormers in international competitions like the United Rugby Championship and Champions Cup, and Western Province for domestic competitions like the Currie Cup.
Le Roux expects resistance but argues it is a 'logical' step.
"The upside of this is that people will no longer call the team Western Problems."
- Jan De Koning, Editor - Rugby 365
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the full conversation.