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Why South Africans are so sought after around the world
By Josh Raisey
There is barely a league in the world that is not currently loaded with South Africans- from World Cup winners to players who have never come close to wearing the Springbok jersey.
The trend in recent years is that any team or league that can splash the cash is likely to go for South African players over any other nation.
The simple reason, according to Schalk Burger, is "we've got a lot of them," but he believes there are deeper reasons which stem from the youth set-up.
The Springboks great discussed with his former teammate Jean de Villiers why South Africans are in such high demand around the world on the latest episode of RugbyPass TV's Boks Office.
The pair enjoyed plenty of success away from their homeland during their careers - Burger with Suntory Sungoliath in Japan and Saracens, de Villiers with Munster and Leicester Tigers - and shared their thoughts on why their compatriots do too.
"Especially in the beginning, say in Japan, it was probably Australia and New Zealand that dominated that market space," Burger said.
"But now South Africans are so sought after and I think it's a couple of things. I think it's work ethic- the fact that our youth structure is so brutal that you get two years and if you don't perform, you're gone. You arrive there and you can't catch a kick-off, you're not getting coached to get better.
"These kids go across and get a second shot at being a pro rugby player and they're just absolutely desperate to make it. They also feel a loss, they don't like losing, and I think that's really important."
De Villiers feels that the South African culture is a contributing factor, adding: "I think that we take a lot of pride in the way that we sell ourselves as individuals but also as South Africans. You're not going to go there to a club and just be there and take the pay cheque at the end of the month. It's a personal thing, it's a pride thing.
"Every time you play, you play to win. I think the fight element that we have, we don't give up. It's due to the circumstances of South Africa and also, some have it far tougher than others, but we're a nation where we find solutions to problems because problems have been part of our lives since day one."
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Latest Comments
Gotta love a coach who'll throw his players under the bus instead of taking the loss on his chin. No wonder his team lacks confidence with a bellend like him in charge.
Go to commentsI agree re-Barrett, he would be an excellent 6. Vaai he called him the squads Terminator! No use in shutting out other specialist 6s though like Frizell and Finau.
I don't think the Saders want Darry tbh, already have so much locking talent in Strange, Cahill, Hannah, and Barrett, with Gallagher returning after a spell at the Canes.
As for your ideas on SRP, I was thinking more expansion into the islands. Why just a Fijian team? Why not a Samoan and Tongan team as well? I think adding Japan could be cool, since they are in roughly the same timezone so not much jet lag. Only issue is that their seasons are reversed! Same with USA.
I think the best option is to keep to ourselves, with AUS, NZ, SAM, FIJ, and TNG. 5 teams for Australia (Brumbies, Reds, Tahs, Force, Rebels), 5 for NZ (Saders, Canes, Blues, Chiefs, Landers), and 4 for the PIs (Moana Pasifika, Drua, Tongan team, Samoan team).
If we expand into the PIs, we cut off a source of talent and entertainment from the Northern competitions like Top 14, and open a whole new market of people. Increase advertisment in Japan as well, since their in the same timezone, and we could be on track for a very good competition.
Plus, we would get gamedays like in America, one game queued up after another. Makes it a whole lot easier if you can just flick on the telly and BOOM theres the games. No need to plan out when things are, just get your mates around, flick it on in the background and chill with a cold beverage.
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