Easter rugby festivals are awesome, but there needs to be a wider net

How lucky we are that the Easter rugby festivals are back.

I think they’re great events for young players to showcase their skills and for scouts to find the next generation of stars.

I have an issue though. What about the young players who are full of talent and potential but don’t attend the schools that get invited to these festivals? What about the kids in the less privileged parts of our country, who have huge potential … where and how are they going to be spotted?

The majority of the schools that play at KES and St John’s and St Stithians – the regular Easter festivals – are private or well-off. They are “rugby schools” and that is why they are often considered the “elite” in rugby terms.

Sure, the occasional invitation sides, made up of boys from different schools, sometimes get a look-in, but the vast majority of teams in action are from traditional, well established schools.

Untapped talent

I just wonder how much talent there is in far-away places like the Eastern Cape and the Boland where the boys might not be at the best schools, where the opportunities to get recognised are few, where agents never go, and where universities fail to visit and recruit?

Then there are the sponsors. Go to any of these big Easter festivals and you’ll notice sponsorship, marketing and advertising from corporate South Africa.

It is wonderful to see how well these events are supported, and thankfully we have big backers involved in schools sport, but how can we get these same companies involved in backing rural, less fortunate sport in places that are “off the map”? Would they even consider putting their money into something they know might not get them the same mileage as a KES, St John’s or St Stithians?

I believe we have so much talent and potential in this country; we just need to find it and back it.

While none of the players in action in the Joburg festivals this weekend are guaranteed a successful rugby future, they definitely have a head start on many others. The young boys, when entering high school, also know that opportunity will come at some stage and that allows them to work hard and dream.

The same cannot be said of the boy who is passionate about rugby, has all the skills, drive and desire, but happens to be at the “wrong school”.

It is no fault of the boys playing at the Easter festivals every year, but surely we, in South Africa, have to try do more to unearth more talent. Surely there must be an opportunity to stage rugby festivals that don’t include the so-called big rugby schools? We need to spread the net wider.

When I was growing up I knew boys who were far better and more skilful than the Kolbes and McCarthys of the rugby and football worlds and never made it because they didn’t get the chance to impress, or have the opportunity for someone who mattered to notice them.

We need to give all young rugby players a springboard to be able to dream more.