Are we really only third best?
After watching the Under-20 Bokkies yet again claim the bronze medal at the IRB Junior World Championship, I started thinking about the reasons why we do not capitalise on our excellent schools rugby system and dominate the junior rugby world as we are suppose to.
Imagine if the Aussies had our schools rugby set-up how invincible they would have been by now?!
The only reason I could come up with for our consistent failure at this level in the past few years after thinking about and analysing this for a long time, is inconsistent selections or just plain bad selections and administration.
If we look at the current 22-man squad only nine (less than 50%) were deemed good enough to make South African Schools in either 2007, 2008 or 2009.
What happened to the other 13 players? I realise that the selectors for the South African Schools teams and the South African Under-20 teams are different entities, but surely in two seasons, 13 players can't have deteriorated that much? We know the South African Schools teams did not do well against Academy sides in 2007 and 2008 and could that be the reason that some of them fell by the wayside? Is our selections policy then at school level so flawed we cannot catch the top talent?
Our schools rugby is in a very good place at the moment and the quality of rugby played is sometimes better than what I see at Super Rugby level and northern hemisphere leagues. Why then does this not spill over into success at Under-20 level?
First of all, I think that the problem starts with the selection of representative teams at Under-16 and Under-18 level for all the different rugby weeks during June. The best players in their positions are not always selected because of selection policies that must be upheld, personal favourites of coaches/selectors, etc, etc. This then results in a lot of players being excluded from the limelight and possible selection for higher honours as they are 'out of sight and out of mind'.
I understand that the current squad of Under-20 players were selected from the players who played in last years Under-19 Currie Cup competition. That in itself is a good platform for selection, but again, those players that are not in the system at provincial level will all be overlooked yet again! The chances of a player being invited to the 'Elite Group' of Under-19 players in a provincial setup if he did not play representative rugby at school are very remote, if nigh impossible!
Some players develop a little later than others (ask Pieter 'Slaptjips' Rossouw, Henry Honiball, etc) and will be lost to South African rugby if the net is not thrown wider. Players like Rossouw and Honiball would most probably never have played for South Africa had they come through the modern junior systems.
Of all the test playing Springboks since 1976, only a mere 20% represented the South African Schools side. This is a good indicator that most Boks develop later and that we should focus more on Under-19 and Under-20 development than Under-16 and Under-18.
I strongly believe that they must introduce something like a Under-19 Varsity Cup and use Under-19 Currie Cup competitions more as the breeding ground for future Boks and that more players could get better exposure through these competitions. How, may you ask can that be achieved? By using the current schools rugby system that is already in place!
Most schoolboy rugby players nowadays aspire to at least make their provincial Craven Week or Academy sides to be able to catch the eye of some provincial scout at these weeks and procure a junior contract to get their foot into the door of professional rugby. The reality is that most of them do not make it and then lose interest in the game as they do not get another opportunity to show off their abilities.
Let's face it, these boys play at most two or three trial games and have to prove themselves within a limited amount of time. Not many players will get enough chance to show off what they are capable of. A wing with a devastating side step may not have the opportunity to showcase this if he never gets the ball in a trail game. How can a hooker and a lock combine in two games if they have never played together? The great Frik du Preez himself said that if the selectors looked at him only at trial games he would probably never have played for the Boks! These boys must be looked at in their 'natural' environment, i.e. their schools sides, to be able to really judge their abilities, because it is here that they learn to play to a structure, game plan and other aspects of a team game. If they knew that they would have another bite at the cherry even after they have left school and even if they did not make one of these representative sides, would we not end up with more players playing the game and thus a bigger pool to pick from?
That is where the current schools rugby system can help and benefit South African Rugby in the future. The schools invest a lot of time and money into these boys and at the end of the day their or other provincial bodies eventually reap the benefits without anything being ploughed back into schoolboy rugby or the schools themselves. If these schools can get a vested interest in the further development of a player, don't you think they will make sure that he gets as much exposure as possible? That is one possible solution. Current school derbies can be used to invite scouts and senior coaches to come and view the talent and thus create more opportunities for players.
I do not have the definitive answer, but the idea is more school exposure that will lead to more player exposure in the end.
Back to the Under-20 Baby Boks and the question of why we cannot dominate this competition. The simple reason is that some of the wrong players gets identified too early and maybe kept too long in the system and by the time the World Cup comes along these players are simply not good enough anymore and then it is too late to introduce other talented players. They must constantly monitor the best Under-19 and Under-20s in the country by using the different competitions or create competitions for these age groups. The English group have played together as a unit in the Six Nations Under-19 prior to competition and have been selected more than a year ago.
Can it be too farfetched to think about a Super Under-19 competition with all the franchises involved concurrently running with the Super 15? Would that not be a great stepping stone to higher rugby honours!
