Kolisi’s move to the Sharks is ‘a lot of smoke’, says Province coach

While Springbok and Western Province captain Siya Kolisi has been linked with a reported move to the Sharks, Province have downplayed the situation.

An American consortium was apparently considering the Sharks as an alternative option if their $6 million (R90 million) investment with Province fell through, which could mean Kolisi could be compromised.

Province coach John Dobson, however, said it was all speculation at this stage.

“Siya is our inspirational leader and these type of rumours are concerning, but I have spoken to him and at this stage it’s all up in the air,” Dobson said on Wednesday.

“There’s a lot of rumours at the moment and there’s a lot of smoke.”

Nonetheless, due to Province’s financial uncertainty, Dobson said several of his players had been approached through their agents.

“Nobody has officially told me they are going elsewhere, but I know Harlequins are after a couple of our forwards,” he said.

“I’ve read Siya might be in demand in SA and there are perpetual rumours about Damian Willemse going to the Bulls.”

Dobson revealed, however, that lock David Meihuizen had received a big offer from Scotland.

“David is not an established guy coming off a contract,” he said.

“He is a player who has to make a call on his future, but we want to keep him here.”

With an eye on next year’s potential Pro16 competition, Dobson said they needed to build the depth of their squad and couldn’t afford to lose established players.

But he insisted all the uncertainty about the financial situation had no impact on Province being handed defeats in their last two matches against the Bulls and the Lions.

“Our group is really tight and we just want to focus on the competition, but these rumours are not the reason why we lost our last two games.”

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