In the latest edition of SA Rugby magazine, SA Rugby’s high-performance manager for sevens, Marius Schoeman, explains what will take to stop the leak of Blitzboks to fifteens.
Schoeman was speaking in an exclusive wide-ranging interview on the future of sevens in South Africa.
Going into 2023, the Blitzboks have lost the likes of Muller du Plessis (Sharks), JC Pretorius (Lions), Sako Makata, Lubabalo Dobela (both Griquas) and Qamani Kota (Pumas) to the fifteens game.
This prompts the question as to whether there is a way to prevent sevens players in South Africa from being poached by the 15-man code?
“There’s only one way and that’s to make men’s sevens its own entity, under the SA Rugby umbrella, with all revenue generated by men’s sevens going into men’s sevens, because then you’re talking big money,” Schoeman explained.
“I understand that SA Rugby, as a company, has to fund national teams that are not self-sufficient or self-funding, but I would still suggest having men’s sevens as its own entity. We could then look to organise our own tournaments, get more involved in the Cape Town Sevens, and use the money we generate to keep a player like Kurt-Lee Arendse in sevens for longer.
“At the moment, we have a limited budget for men’s sevens, so while there are guys who would rather play sevens than fifteens, we can’t match what they can earn in fifteens.”
The February 2023 edition of SA Rugby magazine also features interviews with Springbok star Damian Willemse and Blitzboks breakthrough player Ricardo Duarttee.
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