All not lost for school rugby players
As the former SA Schools coach and a man who operated in that set-up for 4½ years, Mzwakhe Nkosi knows that what goes around comes around on the country s talent conveyor belt.
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The production line has been cruelly interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and though the system is hard-wired to crank back into action, human fragility can t be underes
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timated when the switch gets flicked. What do you say to a matric who
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played rugby their entire life and just wants to be in the school s first team?”
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Nkosi said. Now there is a big void in
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that player s life.”
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The suspension of all schools rugby also comes with more tangible complications. There now is no
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opportunity for players to market themselves for universities or academies. Those players are broken.”
Nkosi believes a natural selection process will reveal itself soon enough. The wheat will separate from the chaff in a country that remains one of the globe s pre-eminent rugby nurseries.
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As Nkosi explains, the country s
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rugby infrastructure and systems will ensure that the top talent flourishes. Coupled to that, players who adapt best to the lockdown will prosper.
Behind that is a system that can help fast-track talent to where it needs to be. There may be no play but the SARugby Union s Elite Player Development
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programme is far from dormant.
In fact, Nkosi believes individuals may actually re-emerge from lockdown better rounded players. What lacks in
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our modern player is rugby EQ and rugby IQ. The lockdown has given players and coaches the opportunity to improve online.
The type of player to come out of
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this is the player who focused on those extras. It will be the scrumhalf who can pass properly off the base, or who can box kick with accuracy, the tight forward who isn t just be big and
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strong, but who will be solid in his fundamentals at the set piece. Basically, it will be the player who
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has now used his time most effectively.”
In SA, however, things are never that straightforward and the system might throw up anomalies.
The 15-year-old was going to play
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under-16 this season will now probably go straight into the A-side. That is a massive jump.”
Nkosi said while the EPD programme might sharpen their minds, player s conditioning would require
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urgent attention upon resumption.
I m confident we will see a steady
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stream of players coming through the system and that the Junior Springboks will be able to pick from. All is not lost.” —