Lucky Sithole
One of the impressive aspects of Rassie Erasmus’ management of the 2019 Springboks is the way he took players from around the world and moulded them into the World Cup winning outfit. Not only did he manage it well, he made it work in his favour.
Erasmus proved, or so it seemed, that not only can a team operate successfully while players are based overseas, it could thrive to the mutual benefit of the players and the team, and most importantly, for the fans and the nation.
But storm clouds are gathering.
Toulon president Bernard Lemaitre used an unfortunate word in describing Eben Etzebeth as a “handicap” to the club but he does have a point. Etzebeth has a £900,000 (about R18.5 million) per annum contract. While the South African lock may be the best player in that position in the world at the moment, that’s still a lot of money for a player who is often injured or away on international duty.
Handré Pollard, has a cool £1 million (just over R20 million) contract with Montpellier, a deal he signed directly after the World Cup, and he hasn’t been in sparkling form for a while now.
Are players like Etzebeth and Pollard worth it? Well, somebody thought so when the contracts were signed, but many clubs are now questioning the amounts of money they pay for overseas (and not just South African) players.
At home, Jake White has started making noises that South Africans playing overseas should not be considered for selection for the Springboks. Speaking on First XV he raised an argument that has been heard around rugby for at least 50 years: “A player must decide if he wants to play for the Springboks and if he goes overseas he shouldn’t qualify for selection for the Boks.”
To many that indicates that he is out of touch with the modern game. One wonders what Rassie Erasmus would reply to that statement.
But Rassie Erasmus is an unusual guy in any company while Jacques Nienaber is a much more conventional coach. And if Jake White is out of touch, what does Nienaber’s announcement seen in Rapport say about him?
He has announced that only South Africa-based players will be considered for the Test against England at Twickenham on 26 November and also the mid-year matches against Wales, Argentina and Italy – excluding a great many players including Marx, Nyakane, Etzebeth, de Allende, Kolbe and many others.
Money, like water, finds its own level. Perhaps the players are paid too much and perhaps that will change (as evidenced by the talks about capping player fees). But it is early in the year. While the International Rugby authorities are not known to be great decision makers, they will have to come up with some kind of solution soon.
Image source: @SARugbyMag
