Leinster to swoop on Willemse?

Damian Willemse is reportedly the potential target of a bold move by Leinster to take the Springbok playmaker to Dublin.

According to RugbyPass, Leinster is considering a transfer that would see the two-time World Cup-winning utility back swap the Stormers for Leinster.

The move, reportedly supported by Ardagh — the Irish glass company with equity in the Stormers — is aimed to coincide with the end of All Blacks centre Jordie Barrett’s sabbatical at Leinster.

This speculated signing would bring the versatile 26-year-old to the Irish club after Barrett’s six-month stint wraps up at season’s end.

Willemse, hailed by Stormers director of rugby John Dobson as a consummate professional, has been a stalwart of the Cape side since 2017, and has played 39 Tests since his Bok debut in 2018 – including overtaking Willie le Roux as South Africa’s first-choice fullback en route to winning the 2023 Rugby World Cup in Paris.

In late 2022, he signed a lucrative five-year contract extension with the Stormers, but it is possible that the rapid rise of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu to add to a stable of Bok playmakers that already boasts Manie Libbok and Warrick Gelant, may necessitate difficult decisions around playing time and the club’s player budget.

For many Stormers fans, it would be unthinkable for Willemse to be the one who loses out in such a scenario, but money talks and Leinster’s pedigree as a European powerhouse – not to mention the presence of defence guru Jacques Nienaber at the club – may inspire Willemse to take the opportunity to experience rugby abroad, as he did on a short-term loan with Saracens in 2019.

A similarly audacious transfer brought Barrett, the 68-Test All Black, to Leinster from the Hurricanes, a deal sparked by billionaire fan Paul Coulson, Ardagh’s largest shareholder and a recent Stormers investor.

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