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- Jake White, Bulls director of rugby and former Springbok coach, praised SA Rugby’s decision to remain committed to the Rugby Championship as a win-win situation.
- He believes that the different demands of franchise rugby in Europe, while still exposed to the All Blacks, represents “the best of both worlds.”
- White’s counterpart for this weekend, Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen, argues that the variety of competition can only benefit the home game.
SA Rugby’s decision to keep the Springboks in the Rugby Championship has been backed by Bulls rugby director, Jake white.
As a result, South African players will now compete in Europe in an expanded PRO16 while still having a chance to be exposed to the best rugby the southern hemisphere has to offer, a win-win situation on the books of many observers.
“It’s the best of both worlds now,” White said Thursday after announcing that his team will face the Lions in the Super Rugby Unlocked Jukskei derby at Ellis Park over the weekend.
“We are playing our rugby franchise in the North and competing against the All Blacks regularly. Despite all the changes in the last few months, we should never doubt the value we got from playing in the South.
“Playing Australasian teams in Super Rugby and internationally proved to be an advantage for our rugby union. We have won two World Cups during the Super Rugby era so it certainly suggests that it was an alliance that worked.”
However, White, who has extensive experience in European rugby as a former head coach of the French club Montpellier, is not against his burgeoning franchise being exposed to a new challenge against the giants of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Italy. .
“Moving north is good from a mental perspective, players can spend a little more time at home with their families due to the structure of the competition and the time zone. It is a different part of the world and perhaps also a different challenge for us, “he said. said.
“But you will still have our best players competing against the best in the world in the All Blacks. I really can’t be bad when you factor in that.
Ivan van Rooyen, White’s counterpart in Saturday’s clash, agrees.
“I am not trying to present myself as an international coach, but I have always believed that it is a good barometer when you can compare yourself to New Zealanders and Australians,” he said.
“We know the type of rugby they play and it has kept our own game pretty sharp. Playing in the north will be a different challenge, but we will still be exposed to teams from the southern hemisphere.
“Going to play week after week in Europe while still playing internationally against two of the best teams in the world is the kind of variety that our game can benefit from.”
While Lions captain and Springbok midfielder Elton Jantjies certainly wouldn’t complain about this future arrangement, he’s not overly concerned about it.
“I’m a certain guy who likes certainty. And for now, we have Super Rugby Unlocked and Currie Cup as certainty. I’m focusing on that right now,” he said.
