CEO Johan le Roux says the DHL Stormers are in a good position to convert their new investment into sustained success. DYLAN JACK reports.
Le Roux, who is a major roleplayer in the Red Disa Consortium as head of Fynbos Ekwiteit, has filled the vacant position of DHL Stormers CEO.
Hosting a press conference with director of rugby John Dobson, Le Roux explained the motivations behind the new consortium investing in the Stormers.
“We think Western Province Rugby, or the Stormers, is well placed to be the strongest financial club in the country,” Le Roux said.
“The motive for the investors is to save the club and to make sure this region retains the heritage of Western Province rugby and the Stormers. So it wasn’t for financial reasons,
“From my family’s perspective, the investment is funded from the philanthropic balance sheet. Ardagh, our Irish partners, see this as a community investment.
“It’s not profit-driven, it’s purely in the interest of rugby and what it means to the society. It is important for us that we can get to financial stability. There is no appetite from us to keep funding financial losses.
While briefing the media, Le Roux confirmed that Western Province Professional Rugby (WPPR) will now be known as Stormers Rugby. The change has been brought on to establish a clear separation between the professional and amateur arm, the WPRFU.
“My ambition for the Stormers is closely aligned with fans,” Le Roux added. “I want to build a team that is consistently successful and regularly competes for and wins major trophies. In simple terms, it’s about building a team with enough quality and depth to compete in the URC and Champions Cup at the same time.
“It’s easier said than done, as we found out over the weekend. While this is a generic ambition, there are a couple of things that makes the Stormers different and gives us a real opportunity of doing this. We operate in a world-class city that has international appeal for coaches and players, as well as fans and sponsors, and we play in a world-class stadium.
“The rugby environment in this region is unrivaled, in terms of sheer volume of diverse talent that comes through the school, university and club system. We want to retain that community and club feeling.
“We don’t have ambitions of becoming a big-money club. This is not a vanity project. It’s not funding continued losses. We want to re-invest the growth in revenue into the team.”
Photo: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix
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Src: sarugbymag.co.za
