CAPE TOWN - The South African Rugby Union’s decision to cut back on overseas-based players was long overdue because, quite frankly, it’s about time players start prioritising their national duty.
Last week, the Executive Council of SA Rugby rled that only overseas-based Springboks with more than 30 Test caps will be eligible for selection, and the policy will come into effect from 1 July.
This will allow players with fewer than 30 Test caps to return to SA should they wish to be considered for Springbok selection after the three-Test series against France in June.
In the existing policy, any player eligible to play for SA could be selected at the discretion of the Bok coach. Now, however, the coach will retain the right to select any player he wants in a Rugby World Cup year, regardless of the number of caps.
The new policy is of course aimed at limiting and halting the mass exodus to overseas clubs, as more and more of SA’s best young talent is lured abroad with lucrative deals.
There might still be a crack or two in this blueprint, but at least it’s a step-up from the existing one. At least there’s change. And this change was desperately needed.
Currently, there are just too many Springbok players who juggle Rands and Euros (or Rands and Yen), while hampering SA rugby’s growth in the process.
And here I’m not referring to guys who have struggled with a lack of game time and selection issues locally, because if you can’t play rugby in your country, then by all means pack up and leave.
What I am referring to are the Springbok capped players who spend so much time abroad and go straight from Super Rugby, Test rugby and probably a bit of Currie Cup (if they even bother to stay that long) to Japan's Top League or wherever. Firstly, this trend significantly decreases SA’s selection pool.
A lot of our youngsters are lost to us because nowadays it’s not just overly enthusiastic daddies creating voetpaadjies next to touch as they walk up and down the field following their boy’s every move on the field. You also see more and more foreign agents lurking on SA school rugby fields and offering them big money to go play overseas.
And, as if the Currie Cup competition, for example, hasn’t received enough spat for becoming too “watered down”, this exodus takes away even more of the already-decreased excitement in the domestic competition as a number of local stars opt to head over during this competition. But at national level, this occurrence does nothing good either.
The fact that Springbok players go overseas also compromises and completely erases their off-season which, needless to say, is needed for recovery after a long, hard season. Overtraining and burning out are very real possibilities, and these players risk it every time they take on a 12-month season.
There’s also the very obvious risk of suffering an injury while playing abroad, something that we saw last year when Jaco Kriel, who was in top form with the Lions, robbed himself of a Springbok spot during their end-of-year tour after sustaining a grade two tear MCL while playing club rugby for the Kubota Spears in Japan. Players also need a mental break, and I think that term is self-explanatory enough.
And it’s also ridiculous to think that certain players have to be given time off by their Super Rugby teams because they chose to play abroad, while the rest of the team prepares for the season.
Oh, and let’s not forget about the contractual disputes that the Springboks have to put up from foreign clubs with to get one of thjeir players to wear the green and gold (remember Duane Vermeulen’s issue last year?). Like I mentioned earlier, I think the new policy is a step up from the current situation, but it’s still gives players too much leeway.
There’s still a gap for Springbok players to go and play in Japan after the international Test window. And they can still be back in time to be eligible for Super Rugby and the June Test series.
Many players don’t care about playing 100 Tests for the Springboks, so if they can play abroad and still make a World Cup appearance, why not? And what happens if you reach 30 Tests? You can still go on as you please and go back and forth, with all the risk and inconvenience still a factor. So I don’t see how even the new policy is going to help in this regard.
SA Rugby needs to go even harder at the overseas Boks with this issue. Okay, representing the Boks might not be as big a deal to all as it is to some, but SA Rugby needs to make it clear that you’re either in or out. Simple as that.