With the Super Rugby play-offs in our midst and the six qualifying teams of the 2015 Super Rugby season all but confirmed, the worrying trend in the decline of South African rugby continues to make its presence known.
Since the reconfiguration in 2011 that saw the inclusion of the 15 teams, no South African team has lifted the trophy, a trend that does not look close to ending anytime soon.
When comparing the playing style, level of overall skill and even the selection process between South Africa and their Kiwi rivals, the gap is impossible to ignore and shows that there is clearly something amiss with how administrators and coaches are approaching the development and maintenance of the sport in this country.
In the 2013 Super Rugby edition, two South African teams made it into the top six qualification spots (the Bulls as conference winners and the Cheetahs snatching up the final wildcard spot). In 2014 only one team, the Sharks as they were the conference winners, managed the cut-off while 2015 will mostly likely see the Stormers as the sole South African team thanks to their conference win.
If any team deserves the sixth team, it should be New Zealand. In the past three years, they have consistently seen at least two teams make the final six, although in 2014 and 2015 they have had three teams make the cut.
New Zealand is nowhere near short of players who have the quality to make a further team, if not two or three, and the constant stream of players seeking rugby overseas is a clear indication that the supply far exceeds the demand. Additionally, the All Blacks have been ranked number one in the world since 2009 and are the defending World Cup winners.
Sadly, just like most sports around the world, money has the final say. The South African public are a huge audience that religiously turn up in their droves to cheer on their teams, the most popular being the Newlands faithful, and this keeps the money ticking over very healthily.
Quite simply, they provide the most commercial and broadcasting funds towards SANZAR and Super Rugby and therefore are gifted with the chance to enter a sixth team, despite the fact that there is clearly a strain to fill the five teams they already have, let alone six.
As a common trend amongst the Southern hemisphere countries however, South Africa is being hit by the increased number of players seeking overseas opportunities, particularly in Japan, during the Super Rugby season that further pushes teams into the ground.
This has prompted South African franchises to seek agreements with Japanese clubs in order to allow players to head overseas during the ABSA Currie Cup but return for the Super Rugby tournament.
They are hoping to bridge the salary gap typically offered by European clubs with the help of their sponsors and give Japan the opportunity to coax players over out of the Super Rugby season, with the guarantee of them returning when needed.
Due to how the 2016 Super Rugby tournament is structured, South Africa has the chance of four teams making it through to the qualification rounds, a possibility that is increased due to them having to overcome an Argentinean and Japanese team to make the top four.
Their real strength will be tested when they meet their Australasian opponents but current trends depict a grim result in the newly formatted Super Rugby and if expectations are not met, the popularity and interest that this competition has held could quickly diminish.
“Main Photo:”
