The top schoolboy tournament in the country being Craven Week is set for 5th -11th July and the provincial teams are busy having their under 18 trials. The only problem is that the quality of players coming through the school system is on mass so many are going to miss out. 16 teams of 23 players each sounds like a lot of players which it is and would expect the top 50-80 have already got contracts for next year. Many of the teams could play 3 teams without the standards dropping such is the abundance of talent.
I was reading a report last weekend that highlighted one of the provinces facing a dilemma having 10 world class players fighting for 3 positions with possibly one more as a substitute. This will leave 6 players out in the cold except this will present an opportunity for agents from abroad looking for new recruits. These players would be considered over flow and is no fault of their own.
I knew a few people who turned to becoming rugby agents back in 1996 when rugby turned professional and the ones i knew represented some of the top players in South Africa. Totally different these days from back then as there is so much more money involved due to the size of the players contracts.
In the last World Cup back in 2023 27 ex South African players were playing for other countries and this number in the future is expected to rise significantly. Players are able to play for another country through birthright or grandparents after a 36 month period even if they have played for another country. This is a once off in your career move, but a player having just left school would need a few years anyway to settle in. Any other player who does not have family connections can gain residency status after 5 years. A player who is 18 or 19 could in theory be playing for another country when he is 24 which is still very young offering a good 7 year international career.
Professional rugby clubs from the likes of Japan and France are expected to be attending these events with many agents already having made contact with certain players. There is also an under 16 provincial rugby week which will also attract agents not only from overseas, but locally as the local provinces sign up the talent. The under 13 provincial tournament will be more about school agents offering scholarships so they can guarantee in 4 years time the school can be challenging for the top spot.
How times have changed since I played as many top players back then were lost through the system and were never seen again. These days if you are excluded from provincial selection there is still opportunities elsewhere especially over seas. Many of my rugby team mates from the army left to play in Wales, Scotland, England and even Italy. The sport was not "professional" back then, but found out later they got paid a decent wage through club sponsors and some went on to represent those countries.
A young talented rugby player leaving school today has the world at his feet due to the high performance programs offered at school level. Other players of their age group from other countries do not have this opportunity and this is like a continuous production line of top players coming off the conveyor belt each year. A club or country developing their youth teams would be crazy to ignore as the players are not necessarily the finished article, but at least two or three years ahead of other players their age. Professional rugby teams should decrease in average age as 20 or 21 year old's make the step up.
