Pead set for Stormers switch two days after Lions coach said he was staying

Haashim Pead is set to leave the Lions for the Stormers, two days after Johannesburg coach Ivan van Rooyen said the young scrumhalf was staying at Ellis Park.

News24 reported on Saturday that the 21-year-old is returning to Cape Town, where he will join the Stormers once the squad is back from its European tour and ready to begin its United Rugby Championship season. Van Rooyen had spoken about Pead’s future on Thursday, saying he was pleased the player would remain with the Lions and would be given more game time as the union worked to develop him into a Springbok.

That tug-of-war between the two franchises now appears to have swung the other way.

What the move means for both squads

Pead went to Johannesburg at the start of 2025 after he could not secure a contract with the Stormers. He grew up in Bo-Kaap and came through Bishops in Cape Town, so the return is a homecoming as much as a career decision.

At the Lions he sat behind Springbok Morné van den Berg and Nico Steyn in the scrumhalf queue, and the minutes Van Rooyen promised were always going to be limited while both were fit. The Stormers have Springbok Cobus Reinach as their first choice, but a gap opened in their squad after Imad Khan suffered a serious knee injury.

If the move is completed, Pead could make his Stormers debut against the Sharks in Cape Town in the third round of the URC. The Stormers open away to Connacht before hosting Edinburgh on 2 October. The Lions begin at Ellis Park on 26 September against defending champions Leinster.

The player the Lions are losing

Pead’s standing in the game is not in question. American sports marketing group Roc Nation added him to a stable that includes Springbok captain Siya Kolisi last year, and he was one of the standout performers for the Junior Springboks at the 2025 World Rugby U20 Championship in Italy. He was named Junior Springbok Player of the Year afterwards.

That is the record the Lions now have to weigh against a squad where two Springboks stand in front of him. For a player of his age, the choice is between a promised pathway in Johannesburg and a clearer route to matchday minutes in Cape Town.

For South African rugby, the practical effect is straightforward. A young player who has been recognised at junior international level needs to be playing, and the Stormers need cover at scrumhalf while Khan recovers. Whether the move is confirmed in the coming days will be settled when the Cape side lands back from Europe.

Source: IOL, Haashim Pead poised to join Stormers just days after Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen backed him