Menu
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
Latest activity
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles and first posts only
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Help Support The Rugby Forum :
Forums
Rugby Union
2021 British & Irish Lions Tour
Sharks vs British & Irish Lions 2: Electric Boogaloo
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="rugby rulz" data-source="post: 1046765" data-attributes="member: 40546"><p>I think the Lions tour has highlighted a rather uncomfortable truth with regards to the South African franchises.</p><p></p><p>You might say that you are shocked that the South African franchises aren't putting up a proper fight etc etc. And yes, they probably aren't. But what I have come to realise is that except for the South African based Springboks, the rest of the players in the country aren't that great with the exception of a few scattered players here and there. </p><p></p><p>The reality is that there are many other South Africans currently playing for European clubs, that would easily walk into the Starting XV of any big South African franchise. Yet, how many of the players in the SA franchises can walk into the starting XV of a European team ?</p><p></p><p>We have become so used to playing and beating our fellow country men for the past year, that it lulled us into a false sense of confidence, when in actual fact, our product has regressed and so have our players. The reality is, many of the starting players in our franchises will most likely have been deployed mainly in the Vodacom Cup (basically a league for the reserves and up and coming juniors) if that was still running. Now we are stuck in a situation where some of the players in our teams that we thought of as being good, is actually just pretty average. </p><p></p><p>Our teams would've been more competitive if they had like a "game of origin" where SA players in Europe and not in the Bok mix could've been allowed to play for their previous franchise against the B&I Lions. Someone like Tyron Green, Esterhuizen, Akker vd Merwe, etc. Those players will have made a massive difference.</p><p></p><p>Unfortunately, this comes down to bad planning and coaching in our franchises and to an extent the decision of players to leave the country sooner and younger is starting to show its negative effect.</p><p></p><p>We will just have to make do with what is at our disposal I guess.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="rugby rulz, post: 1046765, member: 40546"] I think the Lions tour has highlighted a rather uncomfortable truth with regards to the South African franchises. You might say that you are shocked that the South African franchises aren't putting up a proper fight etc etc. And yes, they probably aren't. But what I have come to realise is that except for the South African based Springboks, the rest of the players in the country aren't that great with the exception of a few scattered players here and there. The reality is that there are many other South Africans currently playing for European clubs, that would easily walk into the Starting XV of any big South African franchise. Yet, how many of the players in the SA franchises can walk into the starting XV of a European team ? We have become so used to playing and beating our fellow country men for the past year, that it lulled us into a false sense of confidence, when in actual fact, our product has regressed and so have our players. The reality is, many of the starting players in our franchises will most likely have been deployed mainly in the Vodacom Cup (basically a league for the reserves and up and coming juniors) if that was still running. Now we are stuck in a situation where some of the players in our teams that we thought of as being good, is actually just pretty average. Our teams would've been more competitive if they had like a "game of origin" where SA players in Europe and not in the Bok mix could've been allowed to play for their previous franchise against the B&I Lions. Someone like Tyron Green, Esterhuizen, Akker vd Merwe, etc. Those players will have made a massive difference. Unfortunately, this comes down to bad planning and coaching in our franchises and to an extent the decision of players to leave the country sooner and younger is starting to show its negative effect. We will just have to make do with what is at our disposal I guess. [/QUOTE]
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Rugby Union
2021 British & Irish Lions Tour
Sharks vs British & Irish Lions 2: Electric Boogaloo
Top