The Stormers miracle revisited
The Stormers are defending their United Rugby Championship title. Last year the outfit were beleaguered, unfancied and in a financial hole dug deep and wide by the Western Province union itself. The plans to sell their iconic Newlands home became so bamboozling that Derren Brown couldn't do a stage show about it. Head coach John Dobson got a call before the tournament saying they might be replaced by Cheetahs, of Bloemfontein, because of the impending administration.
The Western Province Rugby Football Union is in trouble. The union has no CEO and the Newlands rugby stadium hasn't been upgraded since 1985. Alexander wants to renegotiate the contract of the stadium and hand it back to the union. The president sees organisations like Leinster and Munster as models for unions in South Africa. There are 90 clubs in Western province. Stormers used the Sisyphus and Absurd Heroes theme to motivate their players. They used to be given little chance. Now they are working on their own. It was a relief for them. Their team used a Greek myth to get back into rugby. If the WPRFU collapses, it will take a long time for the players to regroup.
