Pretoria – Bulls coach Frans Ludeke conceded that no team in South Africa can fend off the strength of the Japanese yen and the euro in attracting the cream of South Africa’s rugby talent but denied that there was a player exodus, especially at Loftus Versfeld.
Ludeke is never one to shy away from the real issues and, on Wednesday at the weekly team announcement, neatly sidestepped the fact that a handful of prominent Springboks had turned their backs on the Bulls in pursuit of bigger paydays on European and Asian soil.
The latest Bull to confirm his departure from Loftus was Springbok fullback Zane Kirchner on Monday, following in the footsteps of Morne Steyn, Jacques Potgieter and Juandre Kruger, while the futures of centre Wynand Olivier, scrum-half Jano Vermaak and reserve hooker Willie Wepener still hang in the balance.
Ludeke doesn’t think there is a crisis of senior players leaving and remained confident that all the outstanding contract extensions would be concluded in the not too distant future.
“Continuity is vital for us and it is still the main pillar. We want to build around a core of senior players who understand the culture of the Bulls. At the moment it is only Zane and we are still in negotiation with all the other players and it is at the final stages. We are positive that we will close the deals. It is a professional era and there are a lot of attractive offers from overseas and that makes it tough. We would like to keep our players because they are vital for us and we will do everything to try and secure them as long as they want to stay at the Bulls. It is still early days and I won’t call it an exodus,” Ludeke said yesterday.
However, Ludeke said that he fully understood why players leave the country for lucrative offers abroad, but also stated that there was still plenty to stay in South Africa for.
“Financially for any player it is vital for them to secure their future and to look after their family and put something together for them when they retire. We respect that as well. But all the players that we have spoken to also respect the fact that the South African market can’t compete with the overseas market.
“There is more to it than just the money. It (South Africa) is a player-friendly environment, the facilities are there, good structures in terms of coaching. There is still also that dream to play for South Africa but it is definitely a challenge. We will always lose players. As soon as a player is no longer the first choice player in the national side then it is an attractive option for the player to go overseas.”
Bulls captain Pierre Spies said that many of those players staying in the country still harboured the ambition to play for the Springboks but also conceded that there is no comparison when it comes to financial remuneration.
“You have to weigh it up to what your ambitions are. Financially you can’t compete but if you have other ambitions to play in South Africa and for South Africa and for the Bulls then that outweighs a certain amount. It will always be a difficult thing because you can’t compete with the overseas market but the ambition might be the difference,” Spies said. – Pretoria News