EDITORIAL: More than scoreboard benefit from sharks on local rugby fields

SHARKS coach, Jake White’s decision to have provincial players promote club rugby by serving in local club structures when they’re not chosen to represent the franchise, is paying off handsomely for Toti.
When Sharks players, Tera Mthembu and Ryan Kankowski took to the field for Toti’s first team on Friday night against the Zululand Rhinos, it was the South Coast team that did all the charging. The mammoth wallop of 80-0 was due in large part to the provincial players’ participation – and not only because they scored the tries.
Kankowski admittedly scored a triple, but several other players in the team also ran in tries, with stalwarts Corne du Toit and Levan Kilian each claiming two apiece. The management and coaching staff of local clubs must be delighted with a move that promises major dividends on several fronts, not just the major benefit of making players step up to show themselves worthy of sharing the field with such big name players. There’s the obvious benefit of having the local players learn a lot from the Sharks.
In addition, the club benefits from pulling bigger than usual crowds to spectate – and spend – at their home fixtures. The extra income generated from refreshment sales at the club bar must be a welcome boon for cash-strapped clubs across the city. The added impetus of having a larger audience to play for undoubtedly incentivises the local players with more reason to ensure they don their jerseys with pride.
According to this week’s Amanzimtoti Rugby Club report, the Sharks players were kept busy for almost an hour after the game, signing autographs and posing for photographs. Locals relish the sight of these rugby superstars on the home front, and it’s good to note they’re responding by turning out to watch.
White did well to realise this win-win situation for all, as it keeps his non-playing players in the game, while also upping the level of rugby at local clubs.