The incredible depth in South African rugby at Test level is the envy of the rugby world, and Emirates Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen believes the Vodacom United Rugby Championship is helping to develop this.
Speaking ahead of the kick-off of this year’s inter-hemisphere competition later this month, Van Rooyen said you could easily trace how the Vodacom United Rugby Championship has benefited not just his own team – which produced five Springboks – but the Springboks as well.
“There are a lot of external influences in the VURC and the weekly challenge is not just playing a different team, but also a different coaching culture. I had a discussion with Johann van Graan and Jacques Nienaber and they said the thing that stands out for them in the VURC is that they’ve coached against more southern hemisphere coaches in this competition than in Super Rugby and/or internationals,” said Van Rooyen.
“The variations week to week are also a lot bigger. There’s the travel, different surfaces like grass or artificial or hybrid pitches, and then the weather can differ from 40 degrees one week to minus one another. That adds to the excitement and the planning and detail you need to focus on. It’s a great challenge for coaches and players. For the players to experience it and for their development, it will show Rassie (Erasmus) and the national selectors whether they are ready for Test match rugby or not, because of the different challenges each week.”
Van Rooyen added that the depth the VURC has created in South African rugby provides the national selectors with the kind of options most coaches only dream of.
“I think it’s helped the national selectors increase the pool of players they can select. We know we’ve got robust and tough athletes. If you look at all of our VURC teams, there are some really exciting X Factor backs in them. We’ve always had tough locks and loosies, and our set pieces will keep on going forward.
“Where we’re fortunate as a country is that national players who fall in the category of number 30 to number 60 now could very easily be number one or two in the next Rugby World Cup and going forward. What a position to be in. If you take 1-15 as the A team, then 16 to 30 and 31 to 45 as another two teams, I think the difference between those three teams is minimal.
“So whichever way they want to play, you can pick one of those teams. You can have a really physical kicking pressure team and be the best in the world, or an exciting counter-attack and wide-attack team and be the best in the world. I think that’s the exciting part. The ingredients are definitely there to create something very special.”
Issued by Michael Vlismas Media
