Every now and then, as a South African rugby writer, you come across someone who is in awe of SA Rugby. And not just the Springboks. A knowledgeable soul who recognises the vast swathe of talent in the country that has yet to be tapped.
And the refrain is the same. While the Springboks are the shop window of SA Rugby, the mixture of fear and awe comes not from the national side, but from anyone who knows their rugby who watches the talent that plays this beautiful game week in and out on the fields of the country.
And as one of these said to my colleague Gavin Rich recently. If South Africa ever get their pipeline right, the rest of the world will be in massive trouble.
That day may be arriving sooner than we all think.
While Rassie Erasmus has done some stellar work with the national side, not only helping the Boks to win back to back World Cups and keeping them as the No 1 side in the world, but he has done that by erasing the hated debates about players of colour and quotas which tainted so many rugby conversations over the years.
In the last two seasons he has expanded the Bok base and given some wonderful young talents their start, and as a result the Springboks can easily field two different teams in test matches and have done so with much success over the past season.
STREAMLINED PIPELINE
With the introduction of Dave Wessels as High Performance Manager at SA Rugby, those pipelines that support both the Vodacom United Rugby Championship franchises and the Boks have been streamlined, supported and given the resources to succeed.
The perfect example of this was taking the under-20s and giving them a coaching team geared for success, and the resources to get the Junior Boks back on top. Since then the likes of Batho Hlekani, Haashim Pead and Cheswill Jooste have all played URC and Jaco Williams has also started to make his name on the scene.
And now the same system will look to defend their title this year and is on tour in Georgia to prepare for the Junior World Championships.
YOUTH SYSTEM IS WORKING
The youth system is already being targeted in the Green and Gold groups that have been identified by Nico Serfontein and his team, who travel around the country to speak to top schoolboy stars and hopefuls and give them the resources they need to succeed.
Given the amount of top schoolboy stars across the school leagues, the system is there to ensure that no talent is wasted.
And while the odd player may choose to go abroad and try to qualify for another country, the reality is that SA rugby has enough talent to lose a few players here and there. And if the motivation to play for the double World Champions isn’t there, it perhaps is the right decision for these individuals to take.
Now, SA Rugby have spoken at length about how the system can improve even more, and that comes in the form of an under-23 league.
GAP BETWEEN VARSITY CUP AND URC
Currently there is a gap between what the teams in the URC can field and the bigger squads they need to maintain across a season. Jake White famously said his team loses two players a game to injury and across a 10-month season that can be devastating, meaning teams often need a bigger squad.
But that bigger squad comes with both challenges and problems, and a lot of players on the fringes go without game time for long periods, and when they are put into action, they are not only rusty, but they lack the confidence needed to succeed.
Add to this the layer that is missing between Varsity Cup and the under-20 competitions, when players graduate and aren’t always 100 per cent ready to break into the senior ranks, and you can see how beneficial an under-23 league can be.
ADDING EXPERIENCE
It will give teams an option to field a few older players among the younger players, giving them game time and keeping them fresh, allowing them to develop at their own pace while picking up experience and allowing them to be sharp when the franchises need them to shine.
And it will ensure that no player goes missing from a system that is already competitive.
If implemented correctly it can be a massive plus for the Boks and the franchises and can give the unions even more depth and should be embraced and applauded.
And for the rest of the world it should be the scariest thing to see. A country with a large player base full of talent, finally getting its pipeline to benefit upwards, and to ensure that the talent is nurtured and given the opportunity to make it at the highest level.
It may take some time, but it can be the silver bullet for SA sides in Europe that they are currently missing.
And that would be just what SA Rugby needs.