No quota; no restrictions

www.keo.co.za |March 27th, 2008

Keo, in his Independent Group column, writes the national coach should pick the best players, regardless of where they are based.

Springbok coach Peter de Villiers insists he wants to pick his best team. He says colour won’t matter and that he owes it to the South African public to send the strongest available side into battle.

He says he won’t accept a quota situation and he won’t accept any restrictions on who he selects. So why then is the issue of overseas-based players even an issue?

If De Villiers is adamant the best team must play, and incumbent SA Rugby Union president Oregan Hoskins continues to endorse his support of De Villiers, then the Bok coach must be given the freedom to select the best player, regardless of geography.

De Villiers has already back-tracked from his initial and premature utterance that Super 14 form will dictate his first Springbok line-up. The obvious response to this naive comment is “what Super 14 form?”

De Villiers also naively tripped himself up before a minute was played in the tournament when he said three South African teams would make the semi-finals.

It made him look like an idiot who knows nothing about the game, and having spoken at some depth to him about his philosophy, I can assure you he knows his rugby. So let’s be charitable and forgive him his early embarrassment when handing out quotes like leaflets.

The coach needs to be more circumspect in what he says to the media, and Hoskins should never back himself into a corner in putting a number to how many overseas-based players should be selected.

Hoskins, I fear, has tried to appease all parties by suggesting the overseas-based selections should be limited to two. In the next breath he says there should also be flexibility.

Why even make the statement? Why the restriction? Why the limitation?

There are 150 South Africans in the French, English, Welsh and Irish club leagues. Some are very good and others no more than journeymen. It may be that in one year the national coach would want to select 10 overseas-based players and in the next he wouldn’t be interested in one player. Give him that luxury.

Springbok captain John Smit, Victor Matfield, Percy Montgomery and Butch James are just four of the World Cup-winning Springboks who remain good enough to play for South Africa. Smit is captain and De Villiers would be foolish to leave out Matfield.

James, until his injury, was superb for Bath. Montgomery has been playing well and still has two years in his legs, while Neil de Kock (Saracens), Marius Joubert (Clermont) and Shaun Sowerby (Toulouse) are enjoying excellent seasons.

Talk of luring South African players back to this country to play their domestic rugby is equally naive in the current economic climate. The Euro gets you more than R12 and the pound is breaking R16 with the ease teams break down the Bulls defence.

Why would a player give up that security for the insecurity of test rugby?

The game’s administration - and that starts with the president of the organisation - have to be realists and pragmatists. The same applies to the national coach.

The Springboks have to beat Wales in June. It is a result that simply cannot be negotiated, and to do so the best side has to play. This means embracing the best South Africans in Europe and being true to the public sell that the best will play.