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Devaluing the Currie Cup

Lets face it, the Currie Cup lost its value the last couple of seasons.

Super Rugby contrastingly became much bigger and better showcase in South Africa. We suddenly have 2 to 3 of our teams reaching the playoffs and tournament champions are no longer a pre meditated certainty like in the past.

But I've come to the conclusion that Super Rugby, believe it or not, must go on whithout South African teams. My reasons are quite simple and straight forward just plain obvious -

Let me start by saying that  Super Rugby have both a negative and positive impact on SA rugby in a whole. The positive aspect of Super Rugby is quite evident when we watch the Boks play. Our Bok coach has a much bigger, more developed talent pool to select a Springbok squad from, and they have the benifit of selecting players that where on form durning Super Rugby to participate in the Rugby Championship.

The negative influence Super Rugby has on South African Rugby, appart from the fact that its demolishing the Currie Cup, it also demands a Super Rugby coach to keep on selecting the players thats on form, regardless of whether those are mentally fatigued or not - Something thats also evident when it comes to our national team.

Jannie du Plessis, Beast, Adriaan Strauss, Flip vd Merwe, Morne Steyn, Jean de Villiers, Jj Engelbrecht, Bryan Habana - All of these players have been playing non stop for quite a while now, simply because they became the "core" players of, not only the Springbok team, but more importantly their provincial teams.

The only way these players gets a break from rugby is trough injury even though their mental fitness was supposed to be looked at way before then. The above  mentioned players have our 2015 World Cup ambitions written all over them. But SARU believes in whiteboard markers, even though our enemy, (The All Blacks) took the obvious initiative and uses Permanent Markers to write their dreams of claiming 2015's opportunity to lift the William Web Ellis in England.

Then there's players that absolutely proves this point, - guys like Francois Louw and Fourie du Preez. Two guys thats with out any doubt the best players in when it comes to world rugby.

Why? Because they where born that way? Or perhaps because they decided to take both their physical and mental wellbeing into their own hands, since SARU aren't capable of understanding the value thereof. The fact that they earn more money aboard is nothing more than a well earned bonus. Both these players play in far less competative leagues, leagues that has far less physical strain on their bodies and automatically allows them to stay mentally fit and most importantly, work on areas of their games which they feel needs attention.

They simply kept on improving as players and managed to keep their hunger for the green and gold while doing so!!? Heck, I think its unwhise to reject a European offer just because you want to stay elegable for the Springbok team. If a club offers a player a big deal contract, they make the offer because they believe thats what the player is worth, not because they want to ulter him from playing for his country. But SARU spits on the helping hand by minimizing the amount of foreign based players in the Bok squad?!! They feel intimidated by European and Japanese clubs eventhough these clubs make it clear that the player they offer the contract to is the one they regard as the best in his position. a "Thank you" would be the right thing to say. Nothing less.

Yes, rich people invested money in Zane Kirchner, and not because he's the worst fullback in South Africa.

Here's a unique comparison - Possibility aside, Who will win a match between the Bok team that demolished the Aussies 3 weeks ago AND the same Bok team but one that is well rested and without over played players?

Thats like compairing the Current well balanced bok team with one thats 100% fully loaded with the strongest steroid on the market - rest!!!

Bottom line - either SARU free's itself from Super Rugby, take part in a Northern Hemisphere competition...
 
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