Leinster to swoop on Willemse?
03/28/2025 12:11 PM
Damian Willemse is reportedly the target of a bold move by Leinster to take the Springbok playmaker to Dublin.
According to RugbyPass, Leinster is preparing a transfer proposal that would see the two-time World Cup-winning utility back swap the Stormers for Leinster.
The move, reportedly backed 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 Stormers tying him to the club until 2027, 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 require difficult decisions to be made around playing time and the player budget.
For many Stormers fans, it would be unthinkable that Willemse would be the one to lose 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 experience rugby abroad – as he did on a short-term loan with Saracens in 2019.
A similarly audacious transfer brought 68-Test All Black Barrett to Leinster from the Hurricanes, a deal sparked by billionaire fan Paul Coulson, Ardagh's largest shareholder and a recent Stormers investor.
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
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