Jean de Villiers says the Vodacom United Rugby Championship is doing an incredible job of preparing a new generation of young players for the demands of Test rugby, and that this past weekend’s Six Nations action was another prime example of this.

De Villiers says he was captivated by another intense round of the Six Nations, and specifically the improving skill levels in the game and the smoother transition for players up to Test level. And he firmly believes the Vodacom United Rugby Championship has a role to play in this.

“The Vodacom United Rugby Championship prepares the players for that level up, and Test rugby is very definitely a level up. The skill level is improving in the game and that’s the beauty of the VURC. As a player you’re playing in different conditions every week. You are testing yourself and your skillset in different conditions and you are improving as a player because you’re doing that more and more. Then making the step up to Test level is actually easier. It’s never easy, but it becomes a lot easier when you’ve tested it at a VURC level week in and week out and can now apply it at the highest level which is Test match rugby.”

De Villiers singles out young Ireland flyhalf Jack Crowley as a perfect example.

“The talk going into the Six Nations was the loss of Johnny Sexton for Ireland, but Crowley’s exposure in the VURC has definitely helped him make the step up to international rugby. I don’t think that can be underestimated. The pressure of playing in a Vodacom United Rugby Championship Grand Final at the DHL Stadium and getting it across the line with Munster against the DHL Stormers – that experience is huge in terms of a youngster moving into such a pivotal role for a very good Ireland team and filling the boots of a player like Sexton.

“You can also look at the Welsh team. They never fully capitalised on England playing with only 13 men, but this is a young Welsh team that were 14-5 ahead at halftime and definitely showed they can mix it up with a top team at Twickenham.”

De Villiers also says the number of close matches in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship has helped prepare the players mentally for just how much smaller the margins for error are becoming in the Test arena.

“This past weekend in the Six Nations once again showed the small margins between winning and losing. You can talk about the Scotland try not being allowed but the scoreboard stands. We’ve seen it in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship from a Glasgow point of view and maybe to a lesser extent Edinburgh who play an extremely entertaining brand of rugby, and then trying to emulate that at international level where one or two errors costs you the game. You need to cut down on those mistakes and the VURC prepares players for this. The Irish haven’t missed a beat in this Six Nations, and they’ve shown in the VURC just how consistent they are, especially Leinster who make up the bulk of the Ireland team. We’ve seen it in the VURC that to beat an Irish team you need to be very sharp because they hardly have an off day.”

Issued by Michael Vlismas Media

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