Cape Town - Golden Lions flyhalf Kobus de Kock says that South African rugby needs to follow in the footsteps of the All Blacks when it comes to the recruitment of schools rugby players.
The flyhalf shared his opinion on Twitter on Friday and said that although he had no problem with the idea of school poaching, he said that this could be detrimental to the Springboks in future, as money could drive talent out of SA.
De Kock posted, “In New Zealand the players play for their home grown team during the domestic competitions. (In the) Super Rugby they play for a different side no matter the province.
“They are back to back World Champs. Maybe we must use their blueprint.”
This comes after Sport24 reported earlier this month that French clubs had reportedly been on the lookout for some young South African players, as they were spotted at the Craven Week which took place at Kearsney College in KwaZulu-Natal.
The contracts offered to players are reported to be between €3 500 and €4 000 (R54 800-R62 700) per month.
“School boy poaching is fine with me as long as that player ends up in the Springbok jersey,” adds the 28-year-old.
“The school boy player should go where he feels he has the brightest future to reach the ultimate goal, a Bok call up.”
Born in Paarl, De Kock enrolled at the Sharks academy in 2007 and made his first class debut for the Durban-based side in the 2011 Vodacom Cup.
Soon after, the flyhalf went to Italy to join Lazio in the National Championship of Excellence for one season.
De Kock then signed with the Lions in 2013 and has so far played 12 games, scoring 22 points.
My personal view. pic.twitter.com/2XbBPriryz
— Kobus de Kock (@kobusdekock15) July 21, 2016