Following a dismal Craven Week there was salt to add to the wounds of the KZN Craven Week selectors when the Sharks Academy saw it fit to award Westville centre Bradley Ellse a big bursary.
Ellse had been overlooked for Craven Week selection, this despite being one of the most impressive backline players on display at KZN final trials at Woodburn this year and being one of his school’s best players throughout the season.
His abilities might have gone unnoticed that afternoon at trials but in the post -school arena where decision-makers’ jobs depend on achieving certain goals including getting winning results, things like player talent, potential, work ethic and value-adding ability tend to count for a lot more than say the colour of one’s school socks.
I maintain that Westville is one of the best supply line feeder schools for the Sharks junior programme, producing quality players and fill places at the Academy and serve the Black and White cause with distinction. Guys like Dale Chadwick, Brynard Stander, Monde Hadebe,Tyler Fisher, Khaya Majola, Greg Bauer, Dylan Marcus and Michael Downer currently figure in plans at the “Tank”. How it is that a school’s players can appear to be shafted at under-18 level but suddenly become so relevant a year later is beyond me.
KZNRU High School Exec
The KZNRU High School Exec has some big decisions coming up possibly starting this week with the announcement of a new Craven Week coach. The members of the Exec are well respected and likeable officials from various schools and have a lot of red tape that perhaps prevents them from implementing a few of their ideas but it seems like it’s the same faces meeting every year now to discuss the same resolve the same issues without much progress being made. The injection of some fresh new approaches to the problems might come via some new personnel. High up on the agenda should be the restructuring of the under-18 selection panel to include representatives from Westville and Maritzburg College.
From the Sharks representative on the committee side I was thinking, how great would it be if an experienced outsider (someone like Paul Anthony) who has no affiliations to Brian van Zyl’s old regime and whatever way of thinking they had, could get in there and help turn many of the so-called problems relating to Craven Week into challenges that can actually be overcome. Maybe It’s wishful thinking. The Exec members have time and resource constraints. Someone has to pay the bills. I understand this but I live in hope of improvement.
This is what has to happen to correct the selection “issues” . When one school has so much influence on the selections problems will arise . Hopefully the selections for next year can be deserving ones so as to give the honours to boys that genuinely deserve them . This is one of the major causes of what Simon Osler was referiing to in his editorial in the Tribune – where do the players go that selected for representative sides at school level . The answer is simple- quotas and selction biases result in not the best teams being selected !
@ Beet- besides the players you have mentioned I see that Duncan Campbell is benching for the Sharks U21 instead of Cope. Also what is happening with Tian Meyer. I believe he has got a better service than McCleod. The Sharks must not take Westville for granted. Already Zondi has followed Sithole to WP and Mxoli has moved to the Bulls after winning the Sharks Academy bursary at KERF.
@Bog: I know about several boys that didn’t play SA schools that deserved to be there and several boys that didn’t play cravenweek and should have been there in the first place as well. Scouts indeed recruit these boys before the Craven week.
Well done to Bradley – he has been on top form this season. I hope he takes the opportunity given to him and can keep his head down and work hard for the honour he has received – every boy dreams of this opportunity! He needs a mentor and he can have a good future at the Sharks
By now, most know that the best players dont necessarily go to CW. Most recruiting is done at the schools and at the tournaments- Easter and WK. And the best players are not selected for SA schools or U20 either. Why else, do so many fall by the wayside or disappear?
Beet, who is the author of this article?
The problem is the total lack of accountability. I have seen not just in rugby but in other sports as well where a great deal of horse trading takes place in pursuit of narrow self interests to the detriment of the bigger(provincial) picture. But year in year out the same mediocrity is delivered and absolutely nothing gets done about it. A shake up is definitely in order and the inclusion of College and Westville selectors can only help with perceptions.