The “Storm in a teacup” surrounding 2025 World Junior Player of the Year Haashim Pead has yet to calm, but it seems certain that the scrumhalf will stay at the 10bet Lions and not head down to the Stormers, as had been reported.
While the reports said that an R800 000 transfer fee had been demanded by the Lions for Pead to head to the DHL Stormers, both parties have rejected that, and now it seems Pead will see out his contract until the end of 2028 at the Lions, as originally expected.
It is clear why the Stormers wanted him - their back-up to Springbok Cobus Reinach, Imad Khan, is injured and will miss the majority of the season after getting undone against the All Blacks, and Pead is the third scrumhalf in line at the Lions behind Morne van den Berg and Nico Steyn, both of whom are quality as well.
While Pead has not spoken publicly on the issue, it has continually been intimated that he wants to return to Cape Town, where he is from, to get more game time, while the Lions obviously want to hold onto him.
That isn’t unusual from any player, and the Stormers, seeing his worth, would want him, but the storm has centred on the transfer fee, which was supposedly demanded by the Lions, which, of course, they are within their rights to do, given that Pead has a valid contract with them.
PEAD WILL BE GIVEN GAME TIME
Either way, Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen has insisted that Pead will be given game time and that the coaching staff have the trust in him to continue to develop him while he plays for them.
In fact, Van Rooyen went as far as predicting Pead would become a Springbok while still at the Lions.
“Firstly, I am proud of his first season in the URC,” Van Rooyen said at his side’s Thursday media outing.
“He joined us after the U20 World Cup; he didn't really have a pre-season with us. So, for him to get the minutes that he got - I think he got 15 caps altogether - shows the trust from us.
“He is an exceptional player. How does he fit in with us? I think Krappie has cemented himself nicely as a solid top 23 at the Boks. So, between him, Nico, Asad, Leighton (Horn), Zian (Cilliers) and all the other youngsters that we have, we are looking for that X-factor and a moment that they can create for us. That is Hash, isn't it?
“Will he get more minutes? I am confident he will. Will he get more opportunities? I am confident he will. Can he become a Bok with us? I am confident he can.”
NEXT LIONS’ STAR
Van Rooyen said Pead would be better off this season and had it in him to be a Lions’ star.
“He had a good pre-season. We didn't give him too much Currie Cup time as we wanted to prepare him and get him fit and ready for the All Blacks and the URC. I don’t see him as a Currie Cup player.
“We believe we have really shifted the URC group in terms of our pre-season and we showed a couple of glimpses of that against the All Blacks. We are hoping that we can start the season like that and Haashim is important for that.
“All three (Van den Berg, Steyn and Pead) of them have got exceptional X-factor,” said Van Rooyen.
“Krappie, like I said, I think he is going to be at the Boks a little bit more often going forward. You cannot go into a season with just one scrumhalf.
“The roles they are in are different horses for different courses. There will be different game plans (for each). We have to find a way to use all of them wisely.”
DOBSON REJECTS TRANSFER FEE
Earlier in the day, Stormers coach John Dobson seemed to confirm Pead was off their radar, and that the transfer fee was not something the Stormers would be looking at in the future.
“Look, the first thing on the transfer feed, the Pead thing is complete hogwash. We didn't pay a transfer fee for Pead. We try to avoid those. But listen, Haashim is a guy we would like at the Stormers and he would like to come to the Stormers, but he's under contract with the Lions.
“There are conversations happening, certainly not the figures that have been quoted, nothing like that. In terms of paying transfer fees, it's not really a culture that exists in rugby. I think sometimes a player can look to buy out his contract or come to an arrangement with his union. So Pead is employed by the Lions, he's got the relationship with the Lions. We're not going to the Lions and asking for Haashim Pead. I mean, we would love to have him. We're ready when he is available.
“Whether he becomes available is a decision between him and the Lions. There's some smoke here. I wouldn't say it's a full-blown fire, because we've told Pead we'd love to have you, but we absolutely, absolutely want to respect his contract and arrangement with the Lions. So if the Lions decide to release him, then I think we'd be at the front of the queue.”