The Western Province Rugby Union is not in a good place at the moment - that much is clear for all to see.
Last week reports surfaced that Stormers assistant coach Paul Treu walked out of a Stormers meeting, apparently because he feels like he’s being sidelined by Stormers head coach Robbie Fleck and assistant coach Paul Feeney.
On Wednesday night, Western Province Rugby Union president Thelo Wakefield said the “management issue” had been addressed in a “fruitful and amicable” manner. There will be further meetings over the next couple of weeks between the parties concerned.
It is good to hear that the WP boss is confident, but we nevertheless sincerely hope the issues raised by Treu will be properly dealt with, because he is a respected coach whose views deserve to be taken very seriously.
The coaching staff issue was, of course, just the latest bomb in a series of WP woes.
In terms of on-field matters, the fact that the Stormers won just six of their 16 games this season should paint a vivid enough picture of just how bad things have been.
Fleck has, of course, copped heavy criticism for his team’s poor performances, but seeing that the financial side of WP’s problems aren’t any better than their disappointments between the four white lines, they don’t exactly seem to be in any position to line up new prospects in the coaching department.
On top of all this, reports stating that Newlands has been used as security for WP’s outstanding debts (which Wakefield has denied) have again highlighted the extent of the union’s financial troubles.
Former Western Province, Stormers and Springbok player Corné Krige was very vocal in his criticism of the Union this week. He was just voicing the concerns many fans have. The Stormers have always been blessed with some of the best crowd figures in the history of Super Rugby, but is it any wonder that attendances at Stormers matches have been steadily declining over the past couple of years?
Our beloved WP Rugby Union needs to restore the faith of the fans.