Hands off our rugby, SARU!

Yet another ridiculous decision from SARU. When will they realise that the Sport of Rugby is in fact a business. If the businesses want to make money they need to play in the top level of all competitions, attract sponsors and put spectators into the stadiums, they do this by winning matches. You only win matches if you play your best team. Ask the Lions how SARU's unfair and unjust decision to dump them out of Super Rugby in the name of development damaged the Union. If SARU wants to improve rugby then put money into clubs, reward the clubs for developing rugby players, give the clubs a certain amount of money for every player of colour that is in their 1st team or second team or U21 or U19. This decision of SARU is typical of their attitude, the Unions must develop rugby and foot the bill for it and they will take the credit. Please ask SARU and the Unions how much money they put back into the clubs that are developing rugby at the grass root levels. In most Unions the answer will be zero.

What SARU are doing is weakening SA Rugby. They are helping excellent white players make the decision to take their talent off-shore a very easy one. These type of quotas were introduced at varsity cup level and I personally saw how it affected players. Players were given targets to reach in order to be considered, they worked damn hard to achieve these targets, and when they did they were told that they can not play because they are white - how fair is that ? That decision affects that player and the whole team around him, moral drops and nobody feels good, even the player of colour that gets put into the team as a quota representative.