Vermeulen in trouble with WP authorities
Have you been keeping abreast of the controversy surrounding outgoing Stormers captain, Duane Vermeulen? The hard-hitting forward has been secretly planning a move to France, and that move is all but complete, but his departure has left a sour taste in the mouth of Stormers fans, including director of rugby Gert Smal.
Read this report courtesy of BDLive journalist Craig Ray below.
WESTERN Province director of rugby Gert Smal gave Stormers captain Duane Vermeulen a dressing down in a private meeting at Newlands on Monday. Vermeulen, who missed last Saturday’s Super Rugby play-off loss to the Brumbies due to injury, was in France being presented to the media as a new Toulon signing.
He has played his last game for the Stormers.
The captain’s absence from the match build-up, despite his injury, caused deep embarrassment for the Stormers as they heard of Vermeulen’s whereabouts through the media.
“I was extremely disappointed in Duane’s actions,” Smal said. “He is a senior and respected player in our squad and, most importantly, he is our captain. Not only did he let his teammates down in a very important game week, but he let down his coaches, the union, our stakeholders and, crucially, our supporters too.
Smal has been left unimpressed by Vermeulen’s conduct.
“I had a sitdown with Duane this morning and he knows in no uncertain terms his actions were not acceptable — it is not something we will ever condone at Western Province Rugby.
“But I have accepted Duane’s side of the story and his apology too. He will be addressing his teammates and management on Wednesday, to apologise to the Stormers squad, and he will also be disciplined internally.”
Vermeulen appears to have been misled by Toulon and their notoriously cavalier owner Mourad Boudjellal. The Toulon bankroller announced last Monday Vermeulen would be joining the club even though, as per his national contract, Vermeulen has a 90-day moratorium on negotiating with a third party.
“I was initially meant to undergo a medical at Toulon and return to Cape Town by Saturday morning to undergo a final medical check in case of the Stormers progressing to
the Super Rugby semifinals,” Vermeulen said.
“When I arrived in France, however, I found myself in the middle of an unexpected press conference, which, it turns out, was to be my unveiling to the local media. That was despite a confidentially clause surrounding my move. This is certainly something that I will be taking up with my agent.
“However, all that said and done it still does not excuse my actions. I did not go through the necessary channels to clear this trip with Western Province.
“Not only did I let my teammates down in what was a huge week for them, but I let down the management and coaches, the union and our proud supporters.
“It certainly wasn’t my intention to cause a furore of any sort, when all the focus should have been on our match against the Brumbies, and for that I would like to apologise to everyone who might have felt let down by my actions.”
Read the story on BDLive here.