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Cape Town - It is believed that South African Rugby Union (SARU) has asked teams not to pick their contracted Springboks for the entirety of this year's Absa Currie Cup tournament.
In the past, Springbok players returned during the latter stages of the competition, but this year will be different.
The Cell C Sharks were the first team to confirm the matter, with CEO John Smit saying the defending champions have to make the best of the tricky situation.
“It was decided upon that all contracted Boks will play no part in the Currie Cup, which puts us at a bit of a disadvantage,” Smit told Sharks website editor Michael Marnewick.
“It also depends on who gets selected for the Rugby Championship because they will then be unavailable for the duration of that competition as well.
“There are two ways of looking at it though: you can be negative and worry about how it affects your chances to win the Currie Cup, or you can be excited about creating Springboks and testing the depth of the squad. We have some exciting youngsters and there will be a few fresh faces.”
In saying that, the competition never fails to generate a lot of interest about young players who rise from obscurity to make their mark, both in the competition as well as for their respective teams.
“We have loads of talent,” said Smit.
“There are youngsters who haven’t even turned 19 yet who could have a role to play in the Currie Cup. There’s a huge amount of excitement about what this Currie Cup could offer in that regard. The challenge in the first five or six weeks of the Currie Cup is that we will face other teams who have had two months to prepare, so we need to make sure we bat cleverly in the beginning.”
The Currie Cup Premier Division kicks off next Friday when the EP Kings face Western Province in Port Elizabeth (19:10 kick-off).
In the past, Springbok players returned during the latter stages of the competition, but this year will be different.
The Cell C Sharks were the first team to confirm the matter, with CEO John Smit saying the defending champions have to make the best of the tricky situation.
“It was decided upon that all contracted Boks will play no part in the Currie Cup, which puts us at a bit of a disadvantage,” Smit told Sharks website editor Michael Marnewick.
“It also depends on who gets selected for the Rugby Championship because they will then be unavailable for the duration of that competition as well.
“There are two ways of looking at it though: you can be negative and worry about how it affects your chances to win the Currie Cup, or you can be excited about creating Springboks and testing the depth of the squad. We have some exciting youngsters and there will be a few fresh faces.”
In saying that, the competition never fails to generate a lot of interest about young players who rise from obscurity to make their mark, both in the competition as well as for their respective teams.
“We have loads of talent,” said Smit.
“There are youngsters who haven’t even turned 19 yet who could have a role to play in the Currie Cup. There’s a huge amount of excitement about what this Currie Cup could offer in that regard. The challenge in the first five or six weeks of the Currie Cup is that we will face other teams who have had two months to prepare, so we need to make sure we bat cleverly in the beginning.”
The Currie Cup Premier Division kicks off next Friday when the EP Kings face Western Province in Port Elizabeth (19:10 kick-off).
