The Sharks say SA Rugby must do more to help keep local talent in South Africa.

It was confirmed this week that Cobus Reinach will be heading to the Northampton Saints after this Super Rugby season, which the Sharks believe could have been prevented had SA Rugby been more proactive and expedient during the negotiation process.

Darryn Pollock writes in The Mercury that the Sharks had approached SA Rugby to try and find a way to keep Reinach on local shores, but that the national body had failed to act quickly enough.

‘I wish SA Rugby had come on board in our negotiations with Cobus four weeks earlier,’ Sharks chiefs operations officer Eduard Coetzee said. ‘Cobus wanted to stay, he just wanted some reassurance that there was a plan for him within SA Rugby, but he didn’t know where he stood.

‘They should have just picked up the phone and reassured Cobus. They spoke a lot about how important he was to their cause to me, but not to Cobus. They also said they would try and help match his overseas offer, but they were too late.’

In the end, SA Rugby did make an effort to match Northampton’s offer, but Reinach had already signed for the English club.

SA Rugby president Mark Alexander then flew down to meet with Reinach and Pat Lambie, who had also received a massive offer from Northampton. Although there were circumstances that saw Lambie turn down a move overseas, Reinach had already put pen to paper.

Sharks CEO Gary Teichmann said it was extremely frustrating that certain ‘amateur structures’ in SA Rugby, and a lack of clarity and communication, continued to contribute to such situations.

‘When Cobus was negotiating his contract, he did not even know who the Bok coach was going to be. How can he make an informed decision on his future if SA Rugby don’t even know their own direction? SA Rugby need to make the hard decisions, especially about overseas Boks.

‘At the moment, SA Rugby can be more proactive, even with the limitations on them from their framework. They can be more professional with their approach to the players they see in their plans, and try to at least sell the Springbok dream, which seems to be waning at the moment.’

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