Ask South African Rugby Union CEO Jurie Roux what his biggest concern is regarding the state of local rugby and he’ll probably tell you it’s the increasing exodus of players to Europe and Japan.
More and more South Africans are heading abroad to cash in while they can and most worryingly it’s not only big-name Springboks being lured to Europe and Japan, but ordinary every-day players. There are hundreds of SA-born men plying their trade with foreign clubs and the trend to move overseas is now also looking appealing to those who are just starting to make a name for themselves domestically.
We hear of young Jacques du Plessis of the Bulls moving to France, a player who only two years ago was still playing U-20 rugby, while Western Province prop Steven Kitshoff is believed to also be looking at moving to the northern hemisphere.
This all on top of the much-anticipated move by several Boks to the rich clubs of France and Japan post the World Cup. It’s becoming a crisis for Saru and the provincial unions, who’re simply being shorn of their core base around which their teams are built.
But as Roux and many others will tell you there’s nothing they can do to stop players from choosing where they want to play their rugby and earn their living. The rand is simply not strong enough so everyone, including Saru, have to bow to the players and get what they can out of them whenever they’re available.
The Japan-based players, for example, already have dual contracts – playing for South African teams in Super Rugby but then joining up with their Japanese sides when the Currie Cup is on the go here. It’s not ideal, but at least those players still have interests in local rugby.
There are no quick-fix solutions to this problem. Saru basically have two options, both of them rather radical. First, they could simply ban any overseas-based players from being eligible for the Bok team. This might sway some of the younger players from looking to move abroad before they’re in their late 20s. Or, Saru must accept this is the professional era and allow players to play wherever they want to, as is the case in football. In World Cup years though there should be no rugby anywhere in the world for one month before the start of the tournament, allowing the national coach to have time working with his squad.
As sad as it is, rugby is now a business, a profession. There’s big money involved – many will say far too much – but it’s the reality. And not until Saru, or for that matter Sanzar (the governing body for rugby in the southern hemisphere), make some tough decisions, one way or another, will the exodus stop.
Anyway, enjoy Super Rugby which kicks off this weekend. I’m going to stick my neck out and say SA’s best performing team will be the Bulls.