September 28, 2007
Australia is looking at unearthing more young South Africans like Dan Vickerman and Clyde Rathbone in the buildup to the next Rugby World Cup in 2011, reports said on Friday.
Newly-appointed Australian Rugby Union high performance manager Pat Howard has arrived at the World Cup in France to examine what countries and what systems are producing the best results.
Australia has had great success poaching young Springboks into its ranks, with lock Vickerman a member of the current national squad and outside back Rathbone forced out of World Cup selection reckoning through injury.
"It's a matter of looking at how we, with our very small player base, stay up there at the top end," Howard told Australian media on Friday.
"If we leave it to luck, you might get the Argentine model occasionally coming through, but it's not a consistent model."
Australian rugby has only four provincial teams from which to choose its national squad.
Howard, who coached English Premiership giants Leicester till the end of last season, intends targeting the usual sources of future Wallabies, the schools, clubs and rugby league, but admitted Australia might investigate whether there was a pool of talented young South African players prepared to one day play for the Wallabies.
"South Africa presents itself as an opportunity, or it could," Howard said.
Howard believes what could drive young South Africans to abandon their homeland in pursuit of another is the plan of the South African Government to step up a quota system to ensure a set number of black players are selected for the Springboks.
Any such imports would have to be assisted by the ARU and would have to be regarded as a long-term investment since the players would need to serve a three-year qualifying period before they became eligible to represent Australia in time for the next World Cup in New Zealand.
Sapa - AFP
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