The DHL Stormers have fought off the rumoured intentions of French club Clermont by signing on No 8 Keke Morabe for another three years and given his potential it can be seen as a major coup for the Cape franchise.
With Springbok Evan Roos out injured until early in the new year, Morabe has stepped into the breach impressively and has arguably been the Stormers’ most impressive forward, outside of maybe JD Schickerling, in the early part of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship season.
However, Morabe, a 23-year-old product of Welkom Gimnasium High School, was understood to have been sought by Clermont and last week rumours were rife that he was poised to follow fellow former Stormers star loose-forward Hacjivah Dayimani to a new life in France.
That is not going to happen though because the Stormers have announced that Morabe has now signed on for another three years, which means he is effectively on the same timeline contract wise as other young Stormers stars such as Roos, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Suleiman Hartzenberg.
Additional young players considered to have a bright future who have signed for a similar time include JJ Kotze and Connor Evans, and of course Manie Libbok is on the Stormers’ books until 2027 too, as is Damian Willemse.
MATTER OF URGENCY
However, that the announcement was made at the unusual time of a Saturday morning was perhaps an indication that it was a matter that the Stormers dealt with with some urgency and an indication that the Clermont threat was real.
Stormers director of rugby John Dobson said in the press release that accompanied the Morabe announcement that Morabe is a long term project he wants to continue with.
“Keke has been a long term project here, he was identified as a standout talent and recruited straight out of school,” said Dobson.
“We have seen him come through the ranks and he has established himself in the senior squad. We have invested considerably in him and expect to see his stocks continue to rise in the years to come. He brings uncompromising physicality and intensity to everything he does on the pitch and has a fantastic attitude and desire to improve as a player.”
Morabe in turn said that with his future now settled, he wants to focus on making the most of the tools available to him from within the Stormers system.
“I have already learned so much since starting my professional career here and I am grateful for the faith the coaches and my teammates have shown in me,” he said.
“The challenge for me now is to make the most of my abilities and develop my game so that I can make a big contribution to the team going forward.”
With Roos still out, Morabe will have a big role to play for the Stormers when they return to URC action against the Hollywoodbets Sharks in Durban on Saturday evening.