The Junior Springboks’ victory in the World Rugby Under-20 Championship shows that the game is thriving at every level in the country, according to SA Rugby Union (Saru) chief Rian Oberholzer.
As the Springboks have won the last two Rugby World Cup titles, the fact that the junior side is following in their footsteps means the long-term future of the game is in good hands.
It was also the first time in 13 years that an SA side has triumphed in the Under-20 showpiece event.
Oberholzer said a lot of work went on behind the scenes which has led to the strong position of SA rugby.
Restructuring South African Rugby: Focus on Juniors, Women’s League, and High-Performance Systems
“The restructuring helped a lot. We focused solely on the structures at the juniors [u18 and u20s] and women’s rugby. Bringing in the right people, like Johan Ackerman and Kevin Foote, made a huge difference,” Oberholzer told SportsBoom.co.za.
“We looked at what the DNA of South African rugby is, and it starts at U18 level. You can’t have one system at U20s and something entirely different at the senior level. Dave Wessels and the high-performance team worked hard to ensure the U20s play like the Springboks.”
“We’re working quietly but seriously on launching a six-team professional women’s league. We’ve done the same with coaching structures as we did with the juniors [appointment of Swys de Bruin], and now we’re looking to give more women a platform to compete at a high level.”
Riley Norton skippered the SA Under-20 rugby team to the title over the weekend. It was not the first taste of international success for the young lock, as he was also part of the SA Under-19 Cricket World Cup last year, which made it to the semi-finals of the tournament.
Luckily for Saru, Norton has already chosen to pursue rugby instead of cricket.
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