Is the Stormers really interested in signing Duane Vermeulen?

When Toulon  indicated that their contract with Vermeulen will terminate at the end of this Top 14 season since he wants to return to SA with a view to play for the Springboks in 2019 it was naturally assumed that he would return to play for the Stormers.

However, the  latest reports on the future of Duane Vermeulen indicate that the Stormers is not really interested in signing a contract with him.   That makes it very difficult to find a team that would in  fac t be interested in signing Vermeulen,  

There are a variety of reasons for the above statement.    So lets look at the remaining Super Rugby franchises.   The Bulls appointed Nic De Jager as co-captain and the Lions has Whiteley as captain while the Sharks have the Du Preez twins.   So where will he be going if he returns to SA?   The only alternatives would be the Cheetahs and the Kings abd that would not represent an ideal path for Springbok selection.  

It must be borne in mind that Vermeulen is no spring chicken and that he did not cover himself in glory playing for Toulon,    Vermeulen was frequently injured and when he did play for them he rarely showed the class he did show before his injury in 2015.   Is the latter fact not the real reason why his contract with Toulon is not renewed and the reason given not a smokescreen to give his departure from the club some respectability?                    

The love for tales...

Dismissals in rugby may be brutal, including for long and loyal servants. Apparently, not this player's case so no needs to protect him and try to give it some respectability.

Second, the official version does not paint a nice picture.

Nothing new under the sun: SA players get their positions in NH clubs by discarding the international squad duties.

NH club rugby and international squad rugby are at odds, a lot of conflicts between the twos. SA players give themselves a competitive boost over other players by guaranteeing full availability.

Was revealed many times: SA head coach must bargain with SA players located in the north so they accept to play for SA. Calling them is not enough.

There was that guy who turned into a mess, the SA player who shot a guy during a hunt. The mess started when he accepted to play for SA. Previously, he negotiated a pay rise by promising not to play for SA ever again.

SA head coach managed to talk him into joining SA.

Same with that player. Head coach managed to convince him to join SA squad.

This is where the official version kicks in: as he lost his competitive asset of being fully available, he was offered a new contract with a pay decrease matching his ability as a player no longer exclusively dedicated to the club. The player could not accept the pay decrease and the new wage. So bye.

In the meantime, the player had an opportunity to make a stint on similar conditions (no calls from SA) in Japan with the money going with it.

SA franchises can not afford paying that kind of money, the player will return to SA rugby only to be eligible for the incoming WC.

That is all: SA players prefer money over honour and they can not get money without dropping their allegiance to SA, because being fully available is their main competitive edge.

Behold, the nonse has spoken.

The above i s indeed total BS and I agree with plum.  

Vermeulen is playing in Japan for most of the year. Why would WP be stupid enough to sign him now. Not even Wakefield can be that daft.

They were unaware of it.

SA head coach 's declarations revealed he met the player who had, following the meeting, a big career decision to make.

Which was to announce to  his club that he would like to play for SA for the 2019 WC.

As soon he did, he lost his competitve edge of being put to task for his club without intereferences from international duties.

As a result, and as revealed by the club owner, he was offered a new contract reflecting his loss in value with the matching wage, which did not meet the player's lust for money.

At this point, people including SA press insiders believed he would come back directly to SA to participate to the preparation of the WC (this is when the press announced the player as a signing to the SA franchise)

Except that the player, driven by his love for money, managed to get a stint in Japan in the meantime.

He sort of double crossed SARU, since the head coach was in all likelihood only an emissary, the deal to come back to play the WC comes from a higher level.

This will be confirmed when the head coach is dismissed and the player still called up by the next head coach.