Blue Bulls sign 18-year-old Pollard

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Blue Bulls sign 18-year-old Pollard

The 18-year-old Paarl Gymnasium scholar was one of the stand-out players in the Baby Boks' successful Junior World Championship effort.
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Nice. Another fly-half talent goes to waste in the land of punts and kicks.

 

[Draggs]

Great, a 6'3" Steyn...
Maybe this one will tackle!

 

[Shovenose]

They brag about their great Rugby school called Affies down there in Pretoria but yet not many of them see rugby past school. They been poaching in the Cape year after year

 

[TRF_heineken]

They brag about their great Rugby school called Affies down there in Pretoria but yet not many of them see rugby past school. They been poaching in the Cape year after year

You know, I really don't understand why some people would say **** like this, is it jealousy? It's professional rugby ffs!! you want to get the best!! The Stormers has signed guys not from the cape you know...

 

[Draggs]

You know, I really don't understand why some people would say **** like this, is it jealousy? It's professional rugby ffs!! you want to get the best!! The Stormers has signed guys not from the cape you know...

Yep, it's a professional game now, so there is nothing wrong here. Unfortunate for WP, but that's the way it goes.

 

[Shovenose]

You know, I really don't understand why some people would say **** like this, is it jealousy? It's professional rugby ffs!! you want to get the best!! The Stormers has signed guys not from the cape you know...

I said Cape not Western Cape. Yes it is professional but buying up and hogging up the talent is not good for SA rugby overall nor is one group having shares in two of them eg. Marc Group with WP and the Bulls. Then it also tells you that the rugby development has been on the down in that part of the country which is also not good for SA rugby. You want development all over the country to build a good depth. Typical Bulls supporters bloody greedy thinking about themselves and ask why the SA team is one dimensional.

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Have to agree with SN on this one. For the best development of young players, the talents need to be divided. If you have 5 talented fly-halves, have them spread out over the country so all 5 can develop. That way we have much more depth in a couple of years.

It's not just the Bulls, the Cheetahs and Lions have started doing it as well lately. Smaller unions like Griquas, Leopards, Griffons and Boland are being robbed of their talents which holds them back from developing and having better competition all over the country.

 

[psychic duck]

Have to agree with SN on this one. For the best development of young players, the talents need to be divided. If you have 5 talented fly-halves, have them spread out over the country so all 5 can develop. That way we have much more depth in a couple of years.

It's not just the Bulls, the Cheetahs and Lions have started doing it as well lately. Smaller unions like Griquas, Leopards, Griffons and Boland are being robbed of their talents which holds them back from developing and having better competition all over the country.

I thought the Griquas, Leopards, Griffons and Boland were all merged into the Super Rugby sides anyway. But whilst you want the talent to be evenly spread if possible, you don't want your promising fly half playing in Currie Cup Division 2 either, so I can see why those teams don't keep their players.

The Cheetahs and the Lions have to find players from somewhere as the big three so often take their best.

 

[TRF_heineken]

Have to agree with SN on this one. For the best development of young players, the talents need to be divided. If you have 5 talented fly-halves, have them spread out over the country so all 5 can develop. That way we have much more depth in a couple of years.

It's not just the Bulls, the Cheetahs and Lions have started doing it as well lately. Smaller unions like Griquas, Leopards, Griffons and Boland are being robbed of their talents which holds them back from developing and having better competition all over the country.

Okay so you say that Pollard should've stayed at WP and had to fight for a spot against, Van Aswegen, Katrakilis, Francis and whoever else? When he's sort of guaranteed a spot in the Bulls setup? The Bulls have great scouts and when they see talent anywhere, they'll take it... The new laws will make it more difficult, but it won't stop a team from getting the guys they want.

Some provinces just have more Rugby Playing Pedigree Schools than others, and some years, some schools just have a bad crop, the unions can't do anything about that. Maybe next year the Stormers will go ahead and sign 6 Waterkloof or Affies players, and then what? Everyone will say, that's what you get for poaching from us!! In some way, some people see this as a dickswinging contest, but if a union/franchise wants a talented guy, and that kid agrees terms with them, it clearly shows that both the union and the prospect had intent to sign, who are we (the general public) to say he can't do that or should rather have stayed at his home union? It has absolutely nothing to do with us. All that we should do is accept it, and wish the guy the best of luck and hope he brings his talents to the party to prove to everyone that he made the right decision.

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Really? He has a chance in Pretoria? Competing with Wesley Dunlop, Lionel Cronje, Louis Fouche, Morne Steyn, Tony Jantjies and whoever else they have in their union?

It's just another fly-half going to waste at a province where they have just too much players competing for the same spot.

 

[TRF_heineken]

Really? He has a chance in Pretoria? Competing with Wesley Dunlop, Lionel Cronje, Louis Fouche, Morne Steyn, Tony Jantjies and whoever else they have in their union?

It's just another fly-half going to waste at a province where they have just too much players competing for the same spot.

Yes, because he's better than Jantjies (who he replaced at the JWC). Louis Fouche and Cronje is average at best. and Dunlop still hasn't proved himself (to me)... IMO Pollard should be our 2nd fly half behind steyn for now...

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Yes, because he's better than Jantjies (who he replaced at the JWC). Louis Fouche and Cronje is average at best. and Dunlop still hasn't proved himself (to me)... IMO Pollard should be our 2nd fly half behind steyn for now...

Okay, so you name 4 fly-halves who haven't proven themselves and so don't pose a threat to his development. Put in the names of Catrakilis, van Aswegen, Francis and Coleman (WP fly-halves) and it's the same thing.

Fact is that with both WP and Blue Bulls he is one of many, while he would have a better chance at developing with a smaller union like Griquas, Griffons, Valke or Leopards (to name a few).

Your example is not really supporting the decision for the Bulls to sign Pollard and letting him develop. It's just another youngster moving to the Bulls and having too much competition. The thing a guy like Pollard needs now is to play in the Vodacom Cup weekly and make the step to Currie Cup level in a year or two. Now he has to compete with as many fly-halves as he would in Cape Town or Durban. It's a bad move.

 

[TRF_heineken]

Okay, so you name 4 fly-halves who haven't proven themselves and so don't pose a threat to his development. Put in the names of Catrakilis, van Aswegen, Francis and Coleman (WP fly-halves) and it's the same thing.

Fact is that with both WP and Blue Bulls he is one of many, while he would have a better chance at developing with a smaller union like Griquas, Griffons, Valke or Leopards (to name a few).

Your example is not really supporting the decision for the Bulls to sign Pollard and letting him develop. It's just another youngster moving to the Bulls and having too much competition. The thing a guy like Pollard needs now is to play in the Vodacom Cup weekly and make the step to Currie Cup level in a year or two. Now he has to compete with as many fly-halves as he would in Cape Town or Durban. It's a bad move.

We'll just have to wait and see then?

nonetheless, the point I was trying to make is that people shouldn't be angry at the Bulls for signing him, as Pollard himself had a choice, and he Chose to go to the Bulls...

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Yes, but the point that people made was that the Bulls should stop approaching all the talents and ask them to come to Pretoria. Yes, if they ask me to play for them I'd say yes although I am a huge Sharks fan. Why? Because it's a great opportunity.

The bigger unions (Sharks, WP and Bulls) are the main reason we have this distorted rugby environment in which the smaller unions are getting smaller and the bigger unions are getting bigger. It's not a first come, first serve-culture anymore but a mo money, mo talents-culure.

This way we will never see a really exciting competition. I don't like saying this but they can learn a lot from the set-up in New Zealand.

 

[psychic duck]

Wesley Dunlop has signed for the EP Kings.

 

[Shovenose]

Okay so you say that Pollard should've stayed at WP and had to fight for a spot against, Van Aswegen, Katrakilis, Francis and whoever else? When he's sort of guaranteed a spot in the Bulls setup? The Bulls have great scouts and when they see talent anywhere, they'll take it... The new laws will make it more difficult, but it won't stop a team from getting the guys they want.Some provinces just have more Rugby Playing Pedigree Schools than others, and some years, some schools just have a bad crop, the unions can't do anything about that. Maybe next year the Stormers will go ahead and sign 6 Waterkloof or Affies players, and then what? Everyone will say, that's what you get for poaching from us!! In some way, some people see this as a dickswinging contest, but if a union/franchise wants a talented guy, and that kid agrees terms with them, it clearly shows that both the union and the prospect had intent to sign, who are we (the general public) to say he can't do that or should rather have stayed at his home union? It has absolutely nothing to do with us. All that we should do is accept it, and wish the guy the best of luck and hope he brings his talents to the party to prove to everyone that he made the right decision.

6 are about the same number of players Affies have produced in same amount of years. If you got cash then you become lazy. You don't bother finding talent or development of players in your own area. You just sit back and buy who ever pops up. Reason why they hogging the talent because they want to win the Vodacom cup, Super Rugby and have a team to win the Currie Cup when the Springbok players ain't there. A lot of those players are going to be turned into mindless bumper car players running into brick walls where most of these "so called" guys for the future will be discarded when the go and buy all the next big thing in a year or two. Nothing to do with crop of talent. We got the 2nd most registered players in the world who most of them get wasted by the Bulls

 

[TRF_heineken]

6 are about the same number of players Affies have produced in same amount of years. If you got cash then you become lazy. You don't bother finding talent or development of players in your own area. You just sit back and buy who ever pops up. Reason why they hogging the talent because they want to win the Vodacom cup, Super Rugby and have a team to win the Currie Cup when the Springbok players ain't there. A lot of those players are going to be turned into mindless bumper car players running into brick walls where most of these "so called" guys for the future will be discarded when the go and buy all the next big thing in a year or two. Nothing to do with crop of talent. We got the 2nd most registered players in the world who most of them get wasted by the Bulls

Okay, so the Bulls don't develop their own players?? Explain Dean Greyling (from Warmbad), Chilliboy (from Tzaneen), Pierre Spies, Dewald Potgieter, Wynand Olivier... The list goes on...

To point the finger only at the Bulls is a bit childish as the Stormers and Sharks are equally guilty... For the Stormers guys like Deon Fourie, Duane Vermeulen, Bryan Habana, Joe Pietersen, Gerhard van Den Heever, De Kock Steenkamp all come from Northern Unions...

Biggest difference is that it looks to me that the Bulls get players of Springbok quality, and the Stormers get the next best thing...

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

I don't think people are pointing fingers at just the Bulls, it's just that they're signing someone when he's 18. The Bulls just don't care about the development of these talents.

Chadwick, Schonert, Burden, Cooper, Hadebe, Bresler (Namibian, but grew up in Durban), Hargreaves, Coetzee, Kankowski, Daniel, Kleinhans, Mtembu, Lambie, Mjekevu, Mvovo, Ndungane, Prinsloo, Sithole and Viljoen are all from the Durban-region. They grew up in the franchise area.


Other players who play in Durban and are not from the region, were just not wanted by their team:

Hoffmann, Whitehead, Skeate, Sykes. The only players you can say were stolen from smaller unions are Bismarck and Jannie du Plessis, Alberts, Ludik and maybe, maybe Botes.

That's just the Sharks.

Best example might be John Smit, who was aiming at a career with the Bulls, but he wasn't offered a contract. So he moved to Durban together with a couple of teammates, including ***** James (no typ-o).

When looking at the Stormers, there's some poaching here and there, but the Bulls take the crown. The way they forced the Basson-transfer was just awful. A lot of talent has gone to waste in Pretoria, fact. It would be better for talents like Pollard to play for Griquas, Pumas or Leopards for instance.

 

[Draggs]

Remember the Lionel Mapoe saga? It was both sad and entertaining...
We have been known to like the odd Free Stater, and the Lions manage to pick up a few of our boys, but that Bloem->Durban->Joburg conversion was overnight!

 

[Shovenose]

Okay, so the Bulls don't develop their own players?? Explain Dean Greyling (from Warmbad), Chilliboy (from Tzaneen), Pierre Spies, Dewald Potgieter, Wynand Olivier... The list goes on...

To point the finger only at the Bulls is a bit childish as the Stormers and Sharks are equally guilty... For the Stormers guys like Deon Fourie, Duane Vermeulen, Bryan Habana, Joe Pietersen, Gerhard van Den Heever, De Kock Steenkamp all come from Northern Unions...

Biggest difference is that it looks to me that the Bulls get players of Springbok quality, and the Stormers get the next best thing...

None of those guys were poached. They were all signed because the Stormers had no one else or the squad was dangerously thin and they were playing first devision Currie Cup rugby. They were aquired and used. Not stolen to sit on a bench. Just to give you a example we had to get guys from oversea to help out. The Sharks had to play JP at 13. Lions also used a NZ. Because there is no one else due to the fact they are all tied for the Bulls playing Vodacom rugby or sitting on a bench.

And no the Bulls the get the cream of the crop and throw the left overs for the other unions.