The standings of the South African franchises in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship doesn’t detract from the quality of players from the Republic, according to GAVIN RICH.
All four SA teams are still in the race to earn spots in the URC playoffs but only the DHL Stormers have already booked a spot in the knockout stages. The defending champions are the highest placed of the local contingent after round 16, having retained the SA Shield from second place on the log.
The 11th-placed Lions’ bonus-point win against Benetton last week kept the Joburgers’ slim playoff hopes alive, but defeats for the sixth-placed Vodacom Bulls and Sharks, in seventh, mean they will be under pressure to win their last two remaining league matches to stay alive in the competition.
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The lower-placed SA teams are chasing the Irish trio of Ulster, Munster and Connacht, with Leinster still unbeaten at the summit, yet at this stage of the 2021-22 campaign the Stormers, Bulls and Sharks were all placed in the top five.
But, in his SuperSport column, Rich suggested that the Irish domination of the 2022-23 URC is no indication of SA weakness or lack of talent available to the domestic and national coaches.
“But while Ireland are riding a strong wave of momentum now, with their provinces carrying on where the national team left off in achieving a notable Grand Slam and winning the Six Nations, to suggest the URC is a reflection of the talent depth available to the coaches of South Africa and Ireland would be wrong,” he writes.
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“Those who lamented the fact that a full-strength Stormers had to battle to draw with a Leinster team that was without its Six Nations players, and then reflected that it was an indication of where the two nations stand heading towards the Rugby World Cup in France are not comparing apples with apples.
“For a start, the Irish coach has the players representing the four Irish provinces to choose from when he selects his team. That’s it. That’s the entire selection pool. For Bok coach Jacques Nienaber that is not the case. There are 300 South Africans playing professional rugby overseas.
“In a country like South Africa, which is such a fertile breeding ground for talent, the franchises generally do have a strong enough pipeline to fill in the losses reasonably quickly. Look at the Stormers.
“Those who have coached in Ireland, such as Gert Smal [he was Ireland assistant coach] and Rassie Erasmus, will tell you that there’s a bigger focus on developing specific individuals in Ireland. Because there needs to be.
“They don’t have the flow of talent coming through the system that South Africa does courtesy of the Currie Cup, which has now become a feeder competition, and the Varsity Cup.”