DURBAN - Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. And the smoke has been steadily rising from the Good Ship SA Rugby for some time now, the national body seemingly afloat in the stormy seas of rugby isolation while the rest of the nations have battered down against the storms.
The ship is sinking, and the most valuable assets, the players, are looking for solid ground, mostly in the Northern hemisphere.
There has been much controversy surrounding SA Rugby in recent times - the in-fighting between chief executive Jurie Roux and former president Oregan Hoskins that led to the latter resigning.
The alleged manipulation of financial systems at Stellenbosch by Roux also does not paint a great picture, but the most obvious example of a sick body are the on-field performances of the Springboks.
An important aspect that needs to be laid bare at SA Rugby’s feet is the influence they have holding onto players courted by overseas clubs, and how little they are doing to help.
The major unions like the Sharks, Bulls, Lions and Stormers appear to be indifferent about the masses of players who announce their departure so regularly now, but their hands are tied.
The player drain is a major factor affecting the health and development of the Springboks, but it is only the Unions who are feeling the pinch.
Photo: Muzi Ntombela, BackpagePix
By allowing the Boks to select overseas-based players, SA Rugby’s hand is not forced when a player comes to them asking for a reason to stay -usually through the Unions who are doing everything they can to keep their stars.
SA Rugby has said they will soon close that option for overseas Boks to represent the
national side, but while it is still open, it leaves them without any pressure on their shoulders.
By only selecting home-based players, SA Rugby would need to be far more proactive in their renegotiations with players. It is not simply about the extra money they would have to front up, it is more about the pathway they would have to place in front of key players.
For example, Sharks scrumhalf Cobus Reinach was looking for reasons to stay at the Sharks, with the hope that the Sharks and SA Rugby together - in a tri-party contract - could come up with a reasonable counter offer. But he was also hoping there would be some sort of pathway to be aware of in terms of his Springbok future.
Clubs overseas promise the world to those they court, and they make them feel important and in the picture, whereas at SA Rugby, the focus is so thinly spread the players are more and more marginalised.
SA Rugby needs to get its ship in order, and fast, or face the consequences of a foreign legion of players and the ill
effects that will have on club and country.