The Rugby Thread - Part Deux

DarkStarMonday said:
URC and Currie Cup is fine for me, who the **** came up with the Europe cup comp wanted money.
Click to expand...
It goes together. And you are just moaning about it because the English and French teams are kicking our ass.
 
I think also why we are battling is because there are some decent SA players that play for the opposition. if they were in our teams we would be better. Unfortunately the exchange rate is s**t
 
MuterOfWorlds said:
Do we really have the depth we so loudly claim we do?
Have to wonder when you look at the Europe leagues vs us at the grassroots/franchise lvl.

That said, for many of those in Europe, their player pools are bolstered to compete.... with South Africans.... So could be quite an interesting analysis imho.

Is it a matter of too many comps, or our player base itself is spread too far across the world by comparison to our competitors?
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Correct.

Our domestic sides are all homegrown.

We pick a player here and there from the Congo, or Zim but 99.9% are local, while at the same time consistently hemorrhaging
our top players to foreign leagues.

ZAR is no much for Euro/Sterling/USD. Add to that the socio-political circus and why wouldn't players leave?

It's amazing that we able to compete at all.

The reason NZ doesn't consider overseas based players for the AB's is because their local league, NPC, Super Rugby etc would be reduced to rubble if they experienced a mass exodus. So they protecting their local league at the expense of the national team.

Razor is only half the issue...

Anyway... it's complicated.. balancing player work load, winning, building squad depth on a comparatively meagre budget etc etc etc

I'm also of the opinion that player drain extends to other aspects of the sport. Our best coaches are employed abroad. Franco Smith, Johan van Graan, Nienaber, Andries Pretorious, Frans Ludeke, Gary Gold, Matthew Proudfoot etc etc etc medical practitioners too. Sports rehabilitation in rugby is fundamental!

Many, many challenges that are unique to South Africa.
 
sand_man said:
Correct.

Our domestic sides are all homegrown.

We pick a player here and there from the Congo, or Zim but 99.9% are local, while at the same time consistently hemorrhaging
our top players to foreign leagues.

ZAR is no much for Euro/Sterling/USD. Add to that the socio-political circus and why wouldn't players leave?

It's amazing that we able to compete at all.

The reason NZ doesn't consider overseas based players for the AB's is because their local league, NPC, Super Rugby etc would be reduced to rubble if they experienced a mass exodus. So they protecting their local league at the expense of the national team.

Razor is only half the issue...

Anyway... it's complicated.. balancing player work load, winning, building squad depth on a comparatively meagre budget etc etc etc

I'm also of the opinion that player drain extends to other aspects of the sport. Our best coaches are employed abroad. Franco Smith, Johan van Graan, Nienaber, Andries Pretorious, Frans Ludeke, Gary Gold, Matthew Proudfoot etc etc etc medical practitioners too. Sports rehabilitation in rugby is fundamental!

Many, many challenges that are unique to South Africa.
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The player/coach drain is as much a blessing as it is a problem. If our players weren't able to leave we might have stronger domestic sides, but we'd also have far fewer players to pick from for the Boks. At the moment foreign sides are footing the bill for a large number of south African players, broadening our eligible player base at no additional cost to SARU. That's the cost factor. It's similar to the playing time factor. If players were all kept locally we'd only be able to give exposure to 4 or 5 players per position, we can now have about double that playing top class rugby each week.
 
Speedster said:
The player/coach drain is as much a blessing as it is a problem. If our players weren't able to leave we might have stronger domestic sides, but we'd also have far fewer players to pick from for the Boks. At the moment foreign sides are footing the bill for a large number of south African players, broadening our eligible player base at no additional cost to SARU. That's the cost factor. It's similar to the playing time factor. If players were all kept locally we'd only be able to give exposure to 4 or 5 players per position, we can now have about double that playing top class rugby each week.
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Yip. There's definitely an upside but it still remains a delicate balancing act.

Squad requirements have changed significantly over the last 4 to 5 years.

My point is more that we should temper our expectations when it comes to our local franchises and their performances in URC, Investec champions cup and EPCR.
 
Speedster said:
The player/coach drain is as much a blessing as it is a problem. If our players weren't able to leave we might have stronger domestic sides, but we'd also have far fewer players to pick from for the Boks. At the moment foreign sides are footing the bill for a large number of south African players, broadening our eligible player base at no additional cost to SARU. That's the cost factor. It's similar to the playing time factor. If players were all kept locally we'd only be able to give exposure to 4 or 5 players per position, we can now have about double that playing top class rugby each week.
Click to expand...

I feel this was true up to a certain point in time and that was pre vs post involvement in Europe leagues. The demands of Europe have changed the dynamic.
 
Helluva good win Bulls. Pau have been unbeatable at home in Top 14 this season.. Perhaps this could turn their season around?
 
Well done Bulls, Shaaks or Shorks, and Stormers. Hard luck Lions.

According to Rassie, Tony Brown is not going anywhere:

www.sarugbymag.co.za

Rassie: Tony's not leaving Boks

Rassie Erasmus confirmed that Tony Brown won't be leaving the Springboks for the All Blacks with a hilarious AI-generated video.
www.sarugbymag.co.za www.sarugbymag.co.za

🤣
 
Last edited:
Stephen said:
Well done Bulls, Shaaks or Shorks, and Stormers. Hard luck Lions.

According to Rassie Tony Brown is not going anywhere:

www.sarugbymag.co.za

Rassie: Tony's not leaving Boks

Rassie Erasmus confirmed that Tony Brown won't be leaving the Springboks for the All Blacks with a hilarious AI-generated video.
www.sarugbymag.co.za www.sarugbymag.co.za

🤣
Click to expand...
All in all a very good weekend for Saffa rugby. Goes a long way towards canceling out last weekends carnage...
 
sand_man said:
All in all a very good weekend for Saffa rugby. Goes a long way towards canceling out last weekends carnage...
Click to expand...
The Cheetahs came so close to almost making it the perfect weekend. 28-24 up and conceded a converted try in the final play of the match, 28-31 to Racing...
 
Jamie Joseph, Tony Brown, and Richie McCaw was spotted doing lunch together
on the weekend.

Something is brewing...........or not?
 
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