Quality of SA rugby will suffer if we keep playing derbies

Why, oh why, are we not playing United Rugby Championship matches against the European teams?

Sure, there is a new strain of Covid-19 doing the rounds, and we always need to be cautious, but there has to be a way for the URC to continue as it was meant to – with the South African teams playing against their European counterparts.

I still can’t get over how quickly some of the European teams fled South Africa late last year, leaving us high and dry. Again.

Now, sadly, we have to be content with playing more derby matches – in what is almost like a mini competition, for the fourth time since the pandemic hit.

It is not fair and the current situation is doing nothing to help grow and develop our game in South Africa.

I am convinced that New Zealand rugby is weaker because they only played against Australia last year, whose rugby is also not of the highest standard. I fear that our rugby in South Africa has suffered and will continue to be hampered because of the lack of competition against strong, overseas opposition.

Heck, we all remember what happened when the Bulls went to Italy to play in the Rainbow Cup final – they got hammered by a supposed weaker team.

And while the four URC teams – the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers – all get set to face each other when the action gets underway again in a few weeks’ time, the Currie Cup is also set for kick-off, which means even more derbies!

Is there really enough quality talent going around for all these teams to be in action, how strong will the teams be, and how good will the standard of rugby be?

Where, in six months’ time, will our rugby be? Will it have developed and grown in strength and quality, or will it have regressed – as it did in New Zealand and Australia?

The European teams in the URC now need to come to the party. Time and time again, South African rugby bosses have said they will go anywhere to play rugby against overseas opposition, so if the European teams aren’t willing to come to South Africa, then let our teams go abroad.

Something’s got to happen. It has been proved that the new strain of the coronavirus did not develop here and South Africa has also been taken off the so-called travel red-list, so why the stalling on getting the URC back on the go as it was meant to be?

The only good thing about the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers returning to action in two weeks’ time is that at least the players will get some much-needed action; it is their profession after all. Whether the fans will be as excited is another matter.