John Plumtree was surprised by the reports that linked Siya Kolisi to the Stormers ahead of their two crucial United Rugby Championship (URC) local derbies.
Bok and Sharks captain Siya Kolisi gets a massive roar as he jogs on for his warmup ahead of #URC #STOvSHA pic.twitter.com/CIQby2CnGq
— Leighton Koopman (@Leighton_K) December 28, 2024
The Sharks coach said they haven’t had a chat about it just yet owing to the importance of the two South African derbies that they desperately wanted to win without any distractions. On Saturday, they fell to the Stormers, losing 24-20 but came away with a win over the Bulls a couple of weeks ago that brought them firmly back into the URC mix.
“It hasn’t been something that we’ve really handled yet.”
“It hasn’t been something that we’ve really handled yet,” Plumtree said, after the loss to the Stormers.
“It was a bit of a surprise, and it came about at a time when we were preparing for this game. I separate that type of matter, and what matters more to me is the team and not one person’s issues, even if it is the captain. I just went to him and asked if he’s on board, he said yes he is, and I said now let’s get ready for this game.
“We’ll deal with that over the next, whatever, I don’t know. I’m not going to deal with it now.”
“We’ll deal with that over the next, whatever, I don’t know. I’m not going to deal with it now.”
Kolisi apparently wants a return to Cape Town to be closer to his family. He received a heroes welcome at the DHL Stadium on Saturday when he ran on for the warm-up. He also received loud applause when he was substituted and when the teams took a lap of honour after the final whistle.
DHL Stormers coach John Dobson has addressed the rumours surrounding Siya Kolisi, who will captain the Hollywoodbets Sharks tomorrow in their #VURC derby 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/hn5TIdLGLA
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) December 27, 2024
Stormers director of rugby John Dobson said last week that a discussion between the Sharks and Kolisi needs to happen first. If he wants to move, and only then, the Cape outfit must see if they have the money to acquire his services.
“He has a contract there and we respect that.” | Independent Media Sport