SA rugby polls home players on Bok picks

THERE is still no definitive policy on the question of overseas-based players representing the Springboks in 2016, though this issue was on the SA Rugby executive council agenda last week.

Several ideas have been put forward recently, but until the new Bok coach is named on Tuesday, and then consulted, no final answer will be forthcoming.

One proposal, and one that seems to have gained traction, is that SA Rugby follows a similar model to Australia. The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) last year introduced a policy whereby players based outside the country could only represent the Wallabies if they had 60 test caps.

Sources have claimed there is a proposal on the table in South Africa, which suggests that there is a sliding scale for capped Boks who choose to play club rugby overseas.

For instance, in 2016, players with 25 test caps will be considered for selection. In 2017, that will increase to 35 and 50 in 2018 with no player allowed to be abroad during World Cup year in 2019. The idea is to allow players some leeway, but also to show commitment if they want to play at Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan.

A SA Rugby spokesman would not divulge specifics, but did confirm that they have sought input on the matter from players around the country.

That was confirmed by MyPlayers, the official organisation representing professional players in the country.

“We did a survey with our members [players] and gave that feedback back to SA Rugby in early March,” MyPlayers chief executive Eugene Henning said. “What we found in our feedback was that the players all feel it’s important to protect the industry in SA, but on the other hand they would like to have career freedom. Those were the two major points to come out of the survey.

“What we did was give the players several options with regards to overseas-based players representing the Springboks. They were under categories such as having the coach picking a selected number of players, or following the Australian system, or banning it altogether as well as one or two other options.

“I must stress the ideas were thought up by our office and probably don’t cover all the options. But what was clear from the feedback was an understanding that rugby needs to be protected in this country.”

For the past four years under Heyneke Meyer, SA Rugby’s handling of the matter followed the line: “What the coach wants, the coach gets.”

Meyer routinely picked overseasbased players — which didn’t sit well with traditionalists. It was a stick to beat him with when results were poor. Prior to Meyer’s tenure, his immediate predecessors Peter de Villiers and Jake White were forced to ask players to return from overseas club commitments if they wished to play for the Boks.

White famously lured Percy Montgomery back from Wales, and he went on to play a key role in winning the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France.

De Villiers also convinced John Smit and Victor Matfield to give up lucrative French contracts, using the 2009 British and Irish Lions series as a carrot. It worked as both played a key part in the 2-1 series win and in the Boks’ Tri-Nations win later that year, which included three straight wins over the All Blacks.

The reality of the situation is that SA Rugby is only offering 20 lucrative Springbok contracts and 10 smaller junior contracts. Given the high rate of attrition due to injury and coaching preferences, not all those contracted players will always be available to the Boks.

The new coach, when he is unveiled this week, needs to have a clear understanding of his selection parameters to be successful.