URC: Bottom of the Rainbow for SA teams

For years we thought that no European team can touch  our Southern Hemisphere teams and that an under 18 high school team can wipe the floor with any team up north. But, how utterly wrong we were. 

Other than the lions that were able to beat Zebre,  not really a decent team. The best we had to offer got completely annihilated. 

I had hope for the bulls but Leinster just completely blew the door down. 

Sharks never looked to be a threat against munster

Stormers, with all of their administration issues was never really going to be an issue. 

Just looking at how our SA teams attack vs the Irish, one can clearly sea that we have lost our ability to actually to be able to use our backline. 

This I lay at the feet of Rassie as he has been working with Unions for the past 3 years but all we end up now is flat backlines, shift the ball and a crash in the midfield. No clever angles, try get over the gain line with your hands free, no supporting runner. 

Our forwards have become limpets, just try to stuck onto the ball carrier, no pop passes. Where as Leinster didn't try steam roll the man but just short angles and good hands. Josh van der vleur is not the biggest man but he got a lot of space and shredded the bulls. 

The other problem, the transformation brothers. The sharks have gone out of their way to go as black as possible but then their loose forwards got completely destroyed, other than Penxe with sheer pace, nothing else to offer. 

Our best players are playing against us. RG Snyman running out of Munster!!! Jean Kleyn, to name a few. 

Our WC success has hidden all of the the failures and it will take another 12 years before we can get back to the top. 

Bring back our best players!!! Start paying them some decent money! New Zealand found a way. 

I also blame Rassie because he scrapped the central contracts and told the unions to carry the buck. Set a salary cap and some weird loop hole. 

But with the earnings from URC, surely the SA teams would earn the same amount as the teams they play against. No reason not try and retain the players. 

Imagine a bulls team with the likes of Pollard, Serfontein and Kriel or Stormers with Etzebeth, Koch, Louw and Kolbe. Maybe Kolbe and Etzebeth being the only 2 players who will be hard to retain given how much they get paid in France. 

Sharks with the steroid twins. But all of them are too white to play for SA. 

I hope I'm wrong but not sure if it is even worth watching our provinces anymore. Looks like we have gone the same way cricket did . Dilute our domestic league and eventually it is going to effect the top.  The cracks are already showing. 

Nothing new.The Cheetahs battled in Europe and hardly lost at home.

Will be interesting to see how Leinster, Glasgow,Benetton and Cardiff  tour around here.

The only team that really toured well in Super R ugby here was the Crusaders.

Ja Saffex, I agree that we have lost a couple of players abroad and some being away on tour. We won't see them until at least December. Just very disappointing not having thee best bulls team face Leinster, but then again. Don't think they are missing any top boks. 

But looking at this list, don't think any of our local based players that are in the bok squad would help our teams

Maybe the only franchise team that can do with the boks are the Sharks. 

Bulls

I agree on that Saffex, just going through the list and I'm not even talking about those in the current bok setup. 

We have Tyrone Green and Esterhuizen at Harlequins. Sale Sharks has clutch of players, The we have Jannes Kirsten and RG Snyman at Munster. David Ribban, Vermeulen etc. The list goes on. 

But instead we have Pepsi Butalesi, can someone honestly tell me that he is better than Dan Du Preeze. maybe in time he'll  get better but he needs to take it off Dan. 

As I said, just imagine Pollard, Serfontein, Kriel, Kirsten, Snyman back at the bulls. 

Rassie  need to start working with Mark Alexander and start to figure out how to get boys back. If we want to break into European Rugby then our teams will have to start winning 

That can only happen if we bring our best players back

Will be interesting to see how Leinster, Glasgow,Benetton and Cardiff  tour around here.

Which sides. Most of them, especially the irish one, are known to rotate their squads according to theirs objectives. They may consider the tour in SA as training grounds for inexperienced players, games to nurture injured players back to form, or resting games that must be played because they must be etc

Players may in fact go to SA more to hunt lions on some of those lion farms where lions are grown up to satisfy trophy hunters than to play rugby.

SA rugby want to make a statement, they target those sides when they are known to play full strength, with mandate for a positive result.

SA players do not play for their country, for the love of rugby. They play for money. They are guns for hire. Their loyalty goes to the highest bidder. They switch sides for one euro more. No check, they do not get up.

Completely out of question SA rugby have the means to compete with european sides.

Joining the euro competition only means a passage toward wealthy sides. Putting out alluring displays to join a side elsewhere.

That’s effectively 4 full sides and their benches playing abroad

That can be believed. And four full back lines that work wonders in any team they play.