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Jake White: Super Rugby cull a 'great decision'

Cape Town - Former Springbok coach Jake White believes that reducing South Africa's participation in Super Rugby is a "great decision" and that the country should use the fresh start as an opportunity to turn things around. 

In his column on All Out Rugby, White welcomed SANZAAR's decision to chop two South African sides from the 2018 tournament, saying it would help the Springboks in the long run. 

White said the major challenge was now to figure out how best to package South Africa's four Super Rugby franchises, while discovering methods of keeping the best players in the country was also crucial.

READ: JAKE WHITE'S COLUMN ON ALL OUT RUGBY

"Reducing the number of Super Rugby teams is a great decision and it may be the catalyst for South African rugby to lead the way again," White wrote.

"I’m not sure that the solutions that the Sanzaar partners will come up with are going to be the right ones, but the main thing is they’ve recognised that, among several issues, the tournament is unfair, depending on which pool you’re in and how many games you play away from home.

"The competition organisers are sitting on a pile of historical data which shows that when it was Super 6, Super 10 and Super 12, those were very, very good tournaments.

"This Super Rugby trim will obviously be very distressing for the people who stand to lose their jobs, but in all fairness, I think most would agree that there should never have been an expansion of the competition."

White said that South Africa would have to make some "tough decisions" in deciding who gets cut, suggesting the possibility of rewarding the top four teams after each season's Currie Cup or splitting into two 'coastal' and two 'highveld' franchises.

White also suggested the recruitment of a director of rugby, possibly Rassie Erasmus, who would oversee the balance in coaches and players between the franchises and "put the various structures in place".

"If we can get the best out of these four teams, with our top players playing and the best coaches coaching them, SA Rugby will be leaders in Super Rugby again," he wrote.

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