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Cape Town - From being on top of the world with possibly the most sought-after coach in world rugby on their books, the Stormers have come crashing back down to earth since Eddie Jones' sudden departure to England.
And, naturally, the search is now on for a new coach ahead of Super Rugby 2016.
Director of rugby Gert Smal says that the Stormers have had numerous coaches declaring an interest in the post.
"We already had at least four approaches, if not six," Smal said, adding that he had been impressed by the caliber of the applicants.
"So there is a lot of interest. I have to make the right decision to bring in the correct person that understands our culture, the way we want to play and understands the dynamics of South Africa."
Smal says that the minimum criteria he is looking for in a coach is "six or seven years" of Super Rugby experience while it would not hurt to have international experience as well.
And, when asked whether or not an international coach was the priority after Jones' departure, Smal's answer suggested that the new man in charge at Newlands would come from outside South African borders.
"Absolutely. I think it stimulates the system," Smal said on the prospect of getting in an international coach.
"With foreigners coming in it does give a nice stimulation to coaches and to players."
In the meantime, Smal will be stepping in and taking charge of pre-season while he will be aided by Robbie Fleck.
"Fleckie has been kind of appointed as coach co-ordinator and I’m actually glad that I gave him the opportunity to coach the U-21s because I thought he did a fantastic job there and he’s most probably the most experienced coach in Super Rugby in South Africa at the moment," said Smal.
"So I’m going to give him some responsibilities and then he’s going to start riding the team more aggressively as well together with the other assistant coaches."
Smal hinted that he does not see himself taking the reigns this season.
"There’s a lot of things I would still like to get right at Western Province … a lot of structures that I want us to get in place properly … a lot of work behind the scenes," he said.
"If you tie yourself up with a team then the system suffers, so at the moment I’m just going to step in and take charge of pre-season."
