South Africa
South Africa act to halt player drain
ESPN Staff
January 27, 2015
South Africa are keen to keep players like ex-Bulls flanker CJ Stander, who is currently at Munster, in the country © Getty Images
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South Africa are taking action to prevent more of their young talent departing the country for lucrative offers overseas.

After a World Cup there is usually a migration of the southern hemisphere's top talent to the north with a number of lucrative contracts on offer. New Zealand have already been hit with Dan Carter and Ma'a Nonu accepting post-World Cup deals while Australia will lose Adam Ashley-Cooper and James Horwill north.

South Africa are bracing themselves for a similar exodus, with Duane Vermeulen, Willem Alberts and Francois Hougaard linked with moves to Europe, but they are also battling to keep hold of their promising younger talent. CJ Stander is currently excelling at Munster having moved there from the Bulls in 2012 and in a bid to prevent more following suit, the South Africa Rugby Union have made the Under-20s the Springboks' second team which means anyone who runs out for them is then tied to the country heading forwards.

"What is worrying is the targeting of our younger players -- they are grabbing them at U20 and players that we foresee playing for us," SARU CEO Jurie Roux said. "We've now changed the rule so the second qualifying is playing for the South African U-20 side, so if you've played for the Junior Springboks since 2013 you cannot play for another country."

Roux also revealed they are looking at a fresh way of contracting the country's top talent. Roux added: "The reality is there can only be about 40 Springboks in a year, so anybody that is not a Springbok is going to start looking overseas.

"It is a very tough position we are in, we can't keep 150 players in the country and contract all of them. We are working hard on a new contract model and how we are going to roll it out."

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