Loose forward Kwagga Smith is the latest injury concern for the Springboks.
Image: Backpagepix
One of my favourite rugby writers, the Englishman Chris Hewett, coined a classic phrase to describe World Rugby. Hewett, semi-retired now and formerly of the London Independent, calls World Rugby the “Non-governing Governing Body” or NGGB — an organisation that moves at a pace best described as geological.
Hewett, writing in The Rugby Paper, amusingly says that “in a foot race with continental drift, the NGGB would be left in the starting blocks.”
A classic case in point is World Rugby’s failure to nail down an international calendar which has a starting point in the year for every country under its governance, a finishing point, and a mandatory three-month off-season where all players get to put their feet up and recover from the season’s brutal physical and mental toll.
The problem, as we know, is that the establishment of a global season would mean significant change for certain countries. And when a long-established bully in New Zealand is one of the nations being asked to compromise, tough talking is required.
We are talking about one of the main solutions put forward to resolve the issue of top South African players playing non-stop from January to December — moving the Rugby Championship to the same early-year slot as the Six Nations.
To be fair to New Zealand (and Australia, who would be similarly affected), nobody likes change, especially if it is to help out an old enemy. It could be pointed out to the Kiwis, though, that the very reason South Africa is in the Southern Hemisphere for the Rugby Championship, and in the north for the United Rugby Championship — resulting in a punishing 52-week season — is because of New Zealand.
Lest we forget that during the Covid-19 pandemic, the New Zealanders selfishly sought to save their own skins and made continued life in Super Rugby entirely untenable for South Africa.
This is exactly where the NGGB should step in. If you are in charge of the international game, and most certainly of the welfare of the players, you need to pull recalcitrant factions into line for the good of all. In other words, govern!
The NGGB has shown some minor signs of life on the issue. Chief executive Alan Gilpin said World Rugby has resolved to fix the problem, but his words merely stated the obvious and were shrouded in likely procrastination.
“What we haven’t been able to do in the men’s global calendar discussion, for more than 20 years, is get to full alignment where the international windows are aligned across the globe,” Gilpin said on the Rugby Unity podcast in March.
“It’s challenging because there are conditions in different parts of the world. Different domestic competitions are being played, and they’ve built their economic models around the calendar as it is. Moving one piece requires compromise in other areas.
“If you’re a South African player playing your domestic rugby in Europe and playing for the Springboks in their international competitions, that’s an 11-month season, and it’s not sustainable at the level the game’s being played,” Gilpin admitted. “We’ve got to try and find those solutions, so there’s really good recognition of that.”
But recognizing the problem is the easy part, and as Gilpin openly admits, this has been ongoing for two decades. Doing something about it is quite another task for the snail-paced NGGB.
Meanwhile, the Springbok Red Cross station continues to admit more casualties, with Kwagga Smith being the latest heavyweight casualty to be ruled out for the remainder of the year.
With five weeks to go to the July 4 season kick-off against England, the Boks not available to Rassie Erasmus are:
Props: Frans Malherbe, Trevor Nyakane
Hookers: Bongi Mbonambi
Locks: RG Snyman, Lood de Jager, Eben Etzebeth
Loose forwards: Kwagga Smith. Ruan Venter, Pieter-Steph du Toit.
Scrumhalves: Morné van den Berg, Cobus Reinach, Jaden Hendrikse, Grant Williams
Outside backs: Ethan Hooker, Aphelele Fassi