Boks don’t have All Blacks’ depth - Roux

Cape Town - There is not enough depth in the country for SA Rugby to prevent the new Springbok coach from picking overseas-based players, CEO Jurie Roux believes.

Roux spoke to Netwerk24 after the announcement of Allister Coetzee as the new Springbok coach earlier this week.

It was confirmed that for the 2016 season, the status quo regarding the availability of overseas players for the national team would remain as is.

“We have to build depth. If we decide today that overseas Boks are taboo, then we’ll lose the services of six or seven top players,” said Roux.

“I’m not a selector, but there are several overseas players who are now the best in their positions.

“There is merit in the criticism SARU is copping over the policy, but we also want the team to win.”

Roux said the issue will again be reviewed at the end of the 2016 season.

According to Roux, there are several factors that need to be considered when determining the availability of overseas players for the Springboks.

“One of them is that we don’t have same amount of depth as the All Blacks,” he said.