Keep the Vodacom Cup!
2011-04-05 15:02Email | Print
Sport24 columnist Gary Boshoff (File)
Gary Boshoff
I have recently heard the view that the Vodacom Cup needs to be scrapped and that SARU and the sponsors, Vodacom, should redirect the funds to the expansion of the Varsity Cup as the main feeder competition for provinces and franchises.
I do not subscribe to this view and I'm of the opinion that the Vodacom Cup occupies a unique niche in the growth pathway of the South African rugby player (and now also in that of the Namibian and Argentine player).
The Varsity Cup is a fantastic competition and has revitalised tertiary rugby in South Africa. All credit to FNB and Steinhoff International, as well as SARU, which has embraced the concept from the outset.
It is definitely the stand-out example of where it is indeed a win-win situation for all involved, especially the players. The competition has become a launch pad for the professional careers of young talented players as well as a fall-back option for provincial players who have struggled to make it at the elite level of the game. These are primarily “un-contracted former provincial players" (or players whose contracts were not renewed by their province or franchise).
As it stands the Vodacom Cup is a critical link between the first XV of the franchises and their broader contracted groups – in fact, it serves as an “academy” for Super Rugby and the Currie Cup.
However, more importantly, the Vodacom Cup is the only platform where the smaller provincial unions can prepare for the all-important Currie Cup and gauge their strengths and weaknesses against the bigger franchises. It is a competition platform where coaches can continuously assess the progress of their young contracted recruits against counterparts (franchises) of more or less similar strengths and use it as the main preparation for the Currie Cup, which remains South Africa’s top domestic competition.
The importance of the Vodacom Cup has taken on a new international dimension with the incorporation of the Pampas XV (Argentina) and the Welwitschias (Namibia).
The Pampas XV have raised the stakes in the competition with a faultless display thus far this year. hey have brought a new sense of urgency and professionalism which can and will inspire the rest of the teams to greater heights of performance excellence and professionalism.
The Pampas XV is off course part of a bigger IRB and SANZAR project to include the Pumas in the Tri-Nations competition starting in 2012. While the majority of the Pumas first XV are scattered across Europe plying their trade at professional clubs, the Pampas XV and the youngsters will build the much needed experience and skills over the next few years – skills and experience which will be in high demand for what is to be the Four Nations.
The Vodacom Cup has the potential to incorporate more international teams such as Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia, Tanzania and Uganda, to name but a few. This should form part of the IRB’s broader development strategy to expose these countries to better quality competition and opposition as the popularity of the sport grows on the African continent.
South Africa is indeed uniquely positioned to drive this process and to play a leadership role in the development of these countries into competitive units, but more importantly, to ensure that standards of coaching and play keep pace with the rest of the rugby playing countries.
