232 SAFFAS PLAYED ABROAD IN 2010!

New Super Rugby franchise The Melbourne Rebels are ready to unleash former Western Province and South African under-18 player JP du Plessis onto the world stage during this year’s tournament.

Craig Ray, Sunday Times

The 19-year-old, who was recruited by the Rebels from league side The Sydney Roosters, has already made an impact since arriving in Melbourne.

Last week, the wing/centre scored a try in the team’s convincing 43-13 win over Tonga using the impressive stepping ability that was such a feature of his playing career at his school, the Paul Roos Gymnasium.

The Roosters recruited Du Plessis during the 2009 Craven Week, a worrying precedent as scouts from the 13-man game continue to cast a beady eye over South Africa’s talent.

Du Plessis vowed at the time that he wanted to improve his skills and then return to South Africa to try to fulfil his dream of playing for the Springboks.

But that was before the formation of the Rebels and the chance to play Super Rugby for an Australian side. If he makes the grade in Melbourne, the Australian Rugby Union will certainly try to persuade the young player to continue his union career Down Under.

He could become the third junior Bok, after lock Dan Vickerman and wing Clyde Rathbone, to turn out in the green and gold of the Wallabies, though that possibility is still some way off.

Du Plessis’s failure to land regular game time at the Roosters was one of the reasons he took up the Melbourne contract.

“I miss rugby union. I’ve played it all my life and am looking forward to playing it again” Du Plessis said.

The increase in the number of local derbies during this year’s Super Rugby tournament will mean that South African players tackle their countrymen more than ever, but in the coming years they could be facing increasing numbers of their compatriots in the colours of Australasian teams.

SAFFA PLAYERS ABROAD

In the recently published 2011 edition of the SA Rugby Annual, a staggering 232 South Africans are listed as having played professional rugby overseas during 2010.

Some, such as Ricky Januarie, stayed for only a month, but most are on full-time contracts, primarily in the French, English and Italian leagues.

It doesn’t take a genius to understand that the loss of so many players will eventually have a knock-on effect on South African rugby, even if 80% of those players aren’t good enough to be Springboks.

Du Plessis’s emergence at the Rebels should be a warning light for South African rugby – he wasn’t simply another good player, he was one of the country’s elite juniors who somehow slipped through the cracks.

Imagine if the same had happened to Pat Lambie or Elton Jantjies.