Western Province OUT … Stormers IN – for all professional rugby competitions

2026-03-06 - 15:13

The days of Western Province rugby are over! All the professional teams of the Cape Town-based union will from now on be known as the Stormers. This includes the teams that will play in the Currie Cup, the national U23 competition as well as the national U20 competition. The amateur rugby teams, who fall under the Western Province Rugby Football Union (WPRFU), will continue to play under the Western Province brand. The U23 side will in future be known as the Stormers XXIII, as they’ll be known in the Currie Cup, while the team to take part in the U20 Cup will be known as the Stormers Bolts. ‘Under one brand’ The Stormers brand will continue to be closely aligned to the heritage and history of Western Province teams, with the playing jersey featuring the iconic blue and white hoops, black shorts, black socks and a disa on the back of the jersey. Stormers Rugby CEO Johan le Roux said that the consolidation of the two brands is an important step forward. “By bringing all our professional teams under one brand we are now completely aligned publicly, and this change will help to bring clarity about who we are and how all our teams fit together in the minds of our fans. “Our heritage will always be an integral part of who we are as an organisation and the Western Province amateur teams will continue to play an important role in nurturing talent to be brought into the Stormers Rugby system.” Meanwhile, Hanyani Shimange has been appointed to oversee the transition of players through the pathway programme to the XXIII set-up and into the senior Stormers squad. He will head-up the campaign for the inaugural national U23 tournament and work with Stormers XXIII head coach Labeeb Levy, forwards coach Helmut Lehmann, attack coach Dewaldt Duvenage and defence coach Craig Childs. Brok Harris will serve as scrum coach, with Migael Wahl the strength and conditioning coach and Uzair Saban the analyst, while Bradley Hollenbach will be the team manager. For the full press release by the Stormers click here.