RUCK N ROLL
GAVIN RICH: SA teams’ poor Super Rugby form may benefit the Boks
For Bok coach Rassie Erasmus, it is time to step out of the shadows and go to the coalface
This time two weeks from now the Springboks would have already played their first Test of the year and what seemed so far away is suddenly at hand. For Bok coach Rassie Erasmus, it is time to step out of the shadows and go to the coalface. It is selection decision-making time, and as someone who does take an interest in the study of history, he will find some consolation in looking back at how the Super Rugby form of the South African teams has related to the performances of the national teams. The record books reflect that the first two times the Springboks won the Tri-Nations tournament was in 1998 and 2004. Both of those were years when South African teams were woeful in what was then the Super 12. The message from that is that international success is not dependent on Super Rugby success. Erasmus will be glad for that because while there has been a noticeable upskilling in the South African players playing Super Rugby, and most of the local teams are far more watchable now than ...
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