Sharks CEO John Smit has changed a number of things during his first year in charge at Kings Park but one that looks likely to stay the same is the union’s approach to contracting junior players. Only 12 junior contracts for 2015 have been awarded. 11 to schoolboys with the other going to current Sharks under-19 starter Chris Lines who is still under-18 this year. The Sharks policy of contracting between just 8 and 12 youngsters per year is driven by a succession plan which attempts to first carefully identify the future needs of their senior team and then to employ good talent scouting to recruit players in the specific future needs positions. The strategy allows the Sharks to spend more money on their senior team contracts, where 99% of the local public interest in pro rugby lies. It also open the door for many uncontracted youngsters who join the Sharks Academy, as they have the opportunity to fill the gaps in the under-19 setup and play provincial age-group rugby against some of the best players their age in the country. This is still one of the best ways for an overlooked player to get noticed and earn himself professional rugby recognition. The downside for the Sharks is that the competition to acquire juniors has increased quite a lot in recent years and there are now fewer talented players left over in the country than ever before, once all the contracts are signed. The Free State and Eastern Province have upped their game and along with the Bulls, Western Province and the Lions are now a lot more aggressive in scouting and making good offers to the best schoolboy rugby players. All these unions also prefer to sign up an entire squad of players as opposed to just 8 to 12. The approach is more costly but with more players comes a lot of benefits including the improved chances of finding the right players for pro rugby. It also pushes up demand, meaning that many more players expect to be paid to play rugby after leaving school as opposed to paying for the opportunity to be developed into a professional.
Sharks contracted players:
| # | Position | Name | School | u18 Honours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prop | Ngoni Chidoma | Northwood | KZN CW & SA Sch |
| 2 | Hooker | Erich Kankowski | Piketberg | Boland CW (inj) |
| 3 | Prop | Kabelo Motloung | Northwood | KZN AW |
| 4 | Lock | Rikus Zwart | Noordkaap | Griquas CW |
| 5 | Lock | Christie vd Merwe | Piketberg | Boland CW |
| 6 | Scrumhalf | Jaywinn Juries | Hentie Cilliers | Griffons CW |
| 7 | Flyhalf | Tristan Tedder | Kearsney | KZN CW |
| 8 | Wing | Sbusiso Nkosi | Jeppe | Lions CW |
| 9 | Centre | Wayno Visagie | Paarl Gim | WP AW 2013 |
| 10 | Centre | Barend Smit | HTS Middelburg | Pumas CW & SA Sch |
| 11 | Fullback/Wing | Chris Lines | Kearsney | KZN CW 2013 |
| 12 | Fullback | Morne Joubert | Glenwood | KZN CW & SA Sch |
@Buffel: That is why I am so eager to see these squads.
Heard good things wrt junior rugby in the EP setup.
@valke: EP going to be competitive in 2015. There is a camp in the first week of December then we will get a better picture of who is who.
@beet: Hi Beet.
Any news on the other u19 squads.
Cant wait to see what the EP ; WP and Lions squads looks like.
Bulls looks to have a impressive squad. Names I have seen from WP looks like they will have a very good squad as well.
@Nemo: you still allowed 4 ‘first year’ players in the game day team.That should also be stopped.
regarding the studies, Varsity Cup and other rugby……. i have two sons in the system and i can tell you it is very very difficult to be successfull in both studies and rugby at the same time. it took the one 4 years to get a 3 year degree with lots of support from the union in year 1 and 2 while playing junior rugby but when you play senior rugby you are on your own and either write the exam OR play the match. the proof is in the pudding – the one focused on studies and his rugby took a serious knock, the other focussed on rugby and his studies took a serious knock. Varsity Cup can open doors for the player who does not make it straight into Vodacom, currie cup. Next year’s Varsity Cup qualifying rules is very strict – ALL players in the squad need a substantial number of credits obtained the previous year and must be registered for a course with a certain number of credits in the current year. This should level playing fields and will make Varsity Cup a fair contest even if you play with players contracted at a union.
The face of cricket changed in 1991/92 during the unity process. Prior to that cricket was run by the “old school tie” schools with minimum opportunities for any other groupings, including Afrikaans schools and even English schools (Settlers) in the northern suburbs. The unity process disturbed the power structure in all cricket, but especially in schools cricket. Suddenly other entities were getting opportunities to prove themselves – and haven’t they made use of these opportunities. Once the players started breaking through more and more Afrikaans schools started investing in cricket. If in doubt, count the number of Afrikaans players who played for SA in the 20 years prior to 1992 and then count the number till the present. This did not happen quite by chance.
Barend Smit will join the Lions not the Sharks, and if I am not mistaken the commentators mentioned that there were 18 vc payers in the cc final.
@Buffel: Correct me if I’m wrong – but this is not the first time. Seems to happen year in and year out.
@iRugby: Don’t write off the Kings. On paper they have a very strong squad. Some astute signings by RobbieK . A few SA Schools boys together with a dollop of CW players from other provinces. Watch this space, albeit it is 9 months away.
@GreenBlooded:It wasn’t through the lack of trying. The talent scouts for 2014 went missing in action. Got a sad excuse from the Head that one boy was not contracted but got a full bursary to the Academy yet his name appears on the list of 12. We got a speech given to us at the capping ceremony that the Union were going to look after their own. Great job guys. Anyway this is an opportunity for those discarded to show their worth and show the current crop of Sharks scouts what they have missed. I honestly believe that 2015 is going to be a hard season for the KZN U19 side but I hope they prove me wrong. To lose the majority of the highly successful Glenwood side to the Lions must be a bitter pill to swallow. In closing- KZN were fast asleep when the other unions were working on their succession plans.
@beet: Oh ok. I see your thoughts. All players should be registered for some kind of academic course. Cannot call it Varsity Cup if they are not at Varsity.
@All Black: This comment of yours is great coz it points out a number of things:
1. 1st year students don’t automatically end up in the televised version of the Varsity Cup. Many of them start very far down the order of merit.
2. Going to a varsity straight after school does not earn you any credits (loyalty points) for Varsity Cup selection down the line – its possible that an older player possibly from another region registers a few years later and gets picked for the team ahead of the student who’s been at the varsity for 3-4 years.
3. Varsity Cup is a lifeline for players that have exhausted other avenues of getting to the top (not all but quite a few) eg. too old for u21 but no pro contract.
4. Smaller unions benefit most from the Varsity Cup opportunities offered. Players at smaller unions still have quite a bit of ladder climbing to do.
So the VC plays a role because SA rugby does not create enough chances for non-mainstream young rugby players. In spite of this I think it’s still debatable whether the VC should be reserved for proper students only or not.
@Vleis: Vleis you were lucky. We were told the Army was totally bilingual – the 1st 50 years were english – but we happened to be there in the next 50
@beet: Agree on most of what you have said here Beet. You can get a degree playing rugby but it will take you twice as long. Many of the players are opting for Sports science which is about two subjects a year. Not sure what you do with it afterwards though. You cannot do a major degree in the normal time period unless it is via Unisa and that will take longer anyway. The U19 Currie Cup suddenly changed to Friday afternoons and most tests at Varsity are on Fridays. Big problem. With regard to the Varsity Cup, players who would have been on the fringes of Franchise teams suddenly had an opportunity to be seen earlier. The smaller franchises have benefitted from this the most. Many players who had not received recognition and were thinking about throwing in the towel suddenly had this opportunity. I personally know of about 10 players from Rovers who were looking to go back to farms etc a few years ago and are now still playing pro rugby. All because they got an opportunity with Varsity Cup.
@beet: Not “close to impossible” .. it is impossible. Mid year exam time is the crunch, no time is allowed for players to actually even write exams. They are then told it is either rugby or study …
@Westers: I sometimes get irritated by the associations made. For example Sevens often gets credited for a player’s progress in a manner that suggests Sevens is responsible for his existence yet the player was good before he got contracted by the Blitzbokke and irrespective of whether he played Sevens or not, he was still bound to progress to senior rugby.
The Varsity Cup is the same. In most cases it is supplementary to success not the cause of success.
The way it is marketed is that it’s a stepping stone. In a few cases this is true. The Varsity Cup has to be credited for producing some success stories all on its own but for the majority of rugby achievers, they would just have easily made the grade without the Varsity Cup.
The truth remains that kids who think they will work towards becoming pro rugby players and be full-time students at the same time find it close to impossible to dedicate the right amount of attention to both. The drop out rate is fairly high – the intensity of rugby training forces the majority to choose one or the other.
I would like to see that same list of Currie Cup final players with their varsity academic achievements listed to see who actually succeeded at both rugby and being a proper varsity student.
@iRugby: WP only look good on paper for 2015, due to signings from other provinces. That’s what happens when the right players are not selected in the first place for the CW and Academy Teams, and when those that are selected, are subjected to dubious coaching.
@beet: Agree with your points, particularly regarding making Varsity Cup for genuine varsity students. But there did seem to be a few players got mentioned during the Currie Cup as having played Varsity Cup at some point. It would be interesting to see how many players in the Currie Cup final had played Varsity Cup at some point.
It is also clear that Vodacom would be seen as higher than Varsity. Vodacom is union based, fully professional and open to all, not just those who seek a varsity education. You also have S15 players getting game time if they are on the fringes of the S15 squads.
I just think we are missing something in the after school set up. As you say, there is a huge following of school games but how many boys give up after school. We must be losing heaps of talent, particularly the late bloomers.
@beet: Very true about the Varsity Cup players and their chances. I asked a current WP u/21 player if he will be playing VC next year and he said only if did not make the WP Vodacom squad or bigger S14 group…He has a chance of captaining the Varsity side, but in the bigger scheme of things it is not a priority.
The 2015 Currie Cup u/19 competition will have WP , Bulls and Lions as the best teams on paper by far.Let us see if they can back up their talent with good results as well.
@Westers: There’s a lot of compo for the signatures of the top players.
The Sharks let themselves down badly this year. They got rid of an experienced recruiter and got in an ex-player who had hardly any experience and proved to be the wrong type of person for the job. I imagine they lost out on a few players signatures as a result. But only time will tell who the big winners and big losers are in recruitment game.
This year the Lions looked to be onto a great thing with all the quality EG boys they contracted to help boost their u19 chances. They did not make the playoffs in the end. It was a poor season by the Lions junior rugby standards but if 2-3 of their players go on to become stars at senior level, it would have been worth the money spent on contracts.
@Westers: The Varsity Cup is getting a lot of credit and its a good concept but there are a couple of things to consider:
1. the Varsity Cup should be restricted to students who play rugby. Instead it seems to always be about ambitious rugby players who study a course here and there
2. the Varsity Cup viewship is actually surprisingly low. There are school rugby games broadcast on TV that attract bigger audiences.
3. if you are a youngster with a contract or you have the opportunity to play in the Vodacom Cup, you’re higher up in the pecking order than most Varsity Cup players. The Vodacom Cup might not be popular but the calibre of players and the standard of rugby is a lot better than the Varsity Cup.
4. Just about any honest after school rugby recruiter will tell you that if you want to become a pro rugby player and get a degree, do the correspondence study route. The only top varsity I’ve heard of tries to accommodate rugby players in terms of lectures and training was Pukke and that was a few years back. In most cases a choice has to be made: miss training sessions or miss lectures – its extremely difficult to make it to the pros when a youngster is skipping practise to attend classes. For rugby after school dedicated hard work plays a large part in success but there is also an element of luck involved. While a player is at Varsity, his biggest rival in the squad might get the lucky break and never look back, while he ends up struggling to make the cut.
At least at the Sharks Academy, they structure classes around training but they are very limited in the courses they offer and the drop out rate is pretty high as well.
@Tang: Hi Tang I was able to watch Jan van der Merwe the hooker of the Bulls u19 team play in the final and was quite impressed. If he continues the way he has he must stand a good chance of playing for the Baby Boks next year.
@Woltrui:
Yep, in the Army we had to speak Afrikaans in the odd numbered months and then Afrikaans in the even numbered months. 
With no decent university in KZN, coupled with the lack of opportunity to play Varsity Cup, this will result in KZN losing many players every year. There is so much more on offer in other provinces if a boy is university bound.
It would be interesting to know how many KZN boys were offered a place at the Sharks and chose another option.
I hope all of these Glenwood boys do well at the Lions. In the professional era, it is no longer about loyalty to the province that gave you a break at school level.
@Beet – The Sharks have probably been the best at embracing professionalism and building a team that brings in crowds. It must be incredibly difficult to balance resources between developing young players and building a strong senior team.
I used to get very bitter and twisted about young players not being loyal to their home unions but I have come to realise that professional sportsmen need to make decisions that suit themselves.
Based on the movement of players from u19, u21 between unions, I wouldn’t be surprised to see many of the above youngsters at other provinces in two to three years.
I must say that I am very glad Warren Whitely made the move to Johannesburg. Along with Johan Ackerman he has been instrumental in making the Lions a far more professional outfit.
@John Single Malt:
Sounds like you’ve been hitting the Single Malt a bit hard there mate. Did you notice that 2 of the players you listed as ‘Off to greener pastures’ are actaully staying at the Sharks??
As for loyalty – if the Sharks didn’t offer these guys contracts what are they supposed to do? Go to the Sharks practice and hold tackle bags – or look elsewhere? Is the loyalty problem with the Glenwood boys or with the Sharks? Duh……..
12 Glenwood Rugby Boys off to Greener Pastures
Player Club/Team
Kenny van Niekerk Lions and UJ
Percy Mngadi Western Province
Koos Tredoux Lions and UJ
Kevin du Randt Lions and UJ
James Venter Lions and UJ
McMillan Muller Lions and UJ
Jaco Coetzee Western Province
Kwazi Khanyile Varsity College and Sharks Academy
Curtis Jonas Lions an UJ
Philani Ngcobo Leicester Tigers
Spamandla Ngcobo SA 7s
Morné Joubert Sharks and Sharks Academy
Given that more than half of these blokes aren’t from here Im not surprised they are moving away.
No surprises that there are hardly any boys staying in Natal given the way that GW teaches them absolutely nothing about loyalty.
@Vleis: Vleisie in the eighties cricket was seen as an English man’s sport. The old conservative Afrikaans headmasters saw the English as the child of the devil (those were the days when Pink Floyds “Another brick in the wall” was banned for subversion. I also clearly remember a teacher telling us that Boney M was a communist inspired band when I was singing “at the rivers of Babilon” in class). Thus cricket was low on the priorities list in Afrikaans schools. The Afrikaans laaties only started to enjoy cricket in the nineties
@beet: Hi Beet,
Any news on the other provinces ?
I see 6 Glenwood boys are joining the Lions and 2 are going to WP.
I published a post which shows that KZN schools have produced very few Springboks: ±6% to 7.5% of all the Springboks whatever way you look at it:
http://blog.schoolboyrugby.co.za/?p=9782
Natal only really became a force to be reckoned with in South African rugby once they endorsed professionalism.
So I believe its’ right for Sharks to look for talent outside the province to ensure that they stay competitive.
However when local SBR talent is of the level that they are capable of joining that small group who have come out of a KZN school and gone on to play for the Boks, the Sharks should go out of their way to retain those talents.
In the last couple of years, I’ve seen at least 2 outstanding prospects decide to leave for other provinces. One is now doing extremely well at the Bulls and the other is off to WP at the end of the year.
That said I can see the same thing happening at the other big unions as well.
Even in the modern era, The Sharks have had a very good track record of holding onto top KZN schoolboys. Bobby Skinstad is perhaps the best one so far that they let get away but one of just a few.
Wat ek nie verstaan nie mnr John Smit jy doen nou al die veranderings maar dan is daar fout met die keuse van jou CW spanne want hoekom net so npaar sharks gekontrakteur, n mens sal verwag dat jy eers kyk na jou seuns in jou gebied en dan elders dit noem n mens bevordering van jou rugby in jou streek, maar hoe se hulle voorspoed vir die sharks. ek persoonlik dink julle maak n groot fout en dit kan julle kom byt so oor n jaar of wat net tyd sal leer of hoe
Imagine if the Sharks gave contracts to like 8/10 KZN Craven week players and plus the ones mention above how good that team will be.
@Woltrui: Yes, I spent some time looking at the pictures and honours boards displaying the Affies superstars. It’s interesting that there were no provincial/national players until about the time of Jacques Rudolph…but after him there were a lot. Did Affies up their cricket intensity in the 90’s?
Talking about sixes, an Affies batsman hit a ball over the train track so it could not be found.
@Vleis: Funny thing Vleis I thought about you when I watched the St Alban boys in the final.
Hope you gave a thought to the Maestro’s ala AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis, who hit a couple of sixes on that pitch, while you were whatching the cricket?
@Woltrui: I watched some of the u19 & u21 cc finals at the pub in Loftus. I recognised a few ex-St Alban’s boys in the u19 & u21 teams. The BB’s may contract too many boys, but at least the St Alban’s boys stayed in their home union!
I was alternating between the pub and the Affies 1st team cricket match v St Alban’s.
@valke: That’s correct. Ngoni Chidoma also played U16 Grant Khomo for Pumas and was also in the U16 HP squad (along with Barend Smit).
If I look at the chaos in BB rugby, who is following the opposite direction than the Charkes, I can’t but help to think the Charkies is on the right track.
So much home grown talent lost – only 5/12 Natal boys and the rest imported. Doesn’t make sense.
Kankowski – related to Hoff or not?
Very talented group of players.
If I remember correctly, Kabelo Motloung played u/16 Grant Khomo for the Valke in 2012, and was also included in the SA HP squad that year.