In spite of several seasoned Springboks leaving these shores after the World Cup and others set to take up short-term deals in Japan, the South African Rugby Union insists the exodus of players is not a crisis.
The Sharks’ 26-Test cap flank Marcell Coetzee became the latest high profile player to announce he is to head abroad in the off-season to bank a few more bucks.
Coetzee will play for Honda Heat in Japan between November 1 2015 and January 31 2016 before returning to the Sharks for the new-look Super Rugby competition.
Other players who are allegedly looking to seek some cash in Japan after the World Cup include JJ Engelbrecht, Francois Hougaard, Pierre Spies and Willie le Roux. Spies will then join up with Jake White at Montpellier in France, teaming up with among others the Du Plessis brothers, Bismarck and Jannie, and rising local stars, Jacques du Plessis, Schalk van der Merwe, Demetri Catrakilis, Wiaan Liebenberg and Paul Willemse.
Other big-name South African players already at Montpellier include Pat Cilliers and Robert Ebersohn.
Willem Alberts, a powerhouse of the Bok team in the last few years, will also play in France after the World Cup, for Stade Francais.
And, the biggest fish of all for the richest club in the world, is Duane Vermeulen, who’ll play for Toulon next year.
The list goes on and on ... Flip van der Merwe, Steven Kitshoff ... and before the year is up there will probably be a few more names added to the export list.
Several stars of the Boks in recent years have been plying their trade abroad for some time already and these include Fourie du Preez, Bryan Habana, JP Pietersen, Francois Louw, Andries Bekker, Frans Steyn ... and again the list goes on and on. Bakkies Botha, who spent three years with Toulon, recently announced his retirement from the game.
Just a few months ago Saru CEO Jurie Roux said his biggest worry in the local game was trying to keep the younger players employed in South Africa.
And, more recently, in spite of several high profile players revealing they’ll no longer play in South Africa and some calling it a “crisis” he told The Star: “It’s not a crisis; it’s a fact of rugby life since the introduction of professionalism nearly 20 years ago,” said Roux.
“All the southern hemisphere nations have got used to managing it and remaining highly competitive in that time at international level.
“It has created opportunities for other players to come through and make a living from rugby.
“And the other side of the coin is the one that they often ask in some of the receiving nations: has it created a crisis in their game?”
Saru are currently working on a remuneration model that should see more high profile players staying in South Africa, but Roux acknowledges his organisation can’t keep everyone happy.
“We are working on a new model that will certainly put a number of our top Springboks on a par with what they can earn overseas.
“But we can’t do that for all 200 or so players who appear in Super Rugby each year. We are also at the disadvantage of a weakening rand. It has lost something like 30percent of its value against the euro since the last Rugby World Cup, which is difficult to compete against.”
The first Springbok squad of the year – for the shortened Rugby Championship – will be named next week. Coach Heyneke Meyer will later this week announce a group of players to take part in a training camp in Johannesburg next week. - The Star