Support the call to keep E Cape in Sanzaar fold

THE call made by both Nick Mallett and Jean de Villiers for the Kings to stay in the Sanzaar competition (The Herald, May 3) needs the support of all rugby lovers in the Eastern Cape and Free State.

For those not in the know, both gentlemen have served rugby in this country with distinction. Mallett was the coach of the all-conquering Springboks that went unbeaten for 17 test matches until that record was recently overtaken by the 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cup winners, the New Zealand All Blacks. Jean de Villiers was part of the World Cup-winning squad of 2007 in France.

Both are extremely knowledgeable about rugby in this country and would never mislead anybody as far as rugby matters are concerned. Their views should therefore be highly respected and supported.

Every South African who follows rugby is fully aware of the fact that the present honchos who administer rugby from the Plattekloof suites in Cape Town are not capable enough to make informed rugby decisions that will serve rugby well in this country.

The call made by both Mallett and De Villiers is purely rugby and not political. It is a well-known fact that both the Eastern Cape and Free State are the feeders of the big unions when it comes to rugby players.

There is no province in this country that will serve them with black players of high quality other than the Eastern and Western Cape. They do this consistently, year in and year out. The EPG report bears testimony to this. The author of this report, Dr Willie Basson, will always remind you that “you ignore the black talent from these provinces at your own peril as far as the transformation of rugby is concerned”.

The Free State province, through its rugby schools, has an unending conveyor belt of brilliant players who are spread all over the country.

The question then arises: Will Saru ignore these facts when considering which franchise to be booted out of the Sanzaar tournament come 2018, in favour of the dominant provinces who poach players from both the Eastern Cape and the Free State? History tells us that they will do it, just as they did in 2003 against the Eastern Cape.

Rugby politics and not rugby common sense will prevail here. In a nutshell, Saru has a task of making an everlasting rugby decision for the sake of the generation of rugby players to emerge from these two provinces. Keep these two provinces in the Sanzaar family! If Saru fails to do so, history will judge them harshly.

Mveleli Edwin Ncula, Rowallan Park, Port Elizabeth