Ivan van Rooyen is convinced that the Vodacom URC is pivotal in nurturing the talent that has seen the Springboks’ squad depth become the envy of the rugby world.
Lion coach Van Rooyen believes the benefits of the Vodacom URC are clear, not just for his own team — who produced five new Springboks in 2024 — but also for the Springboks as a whole.
In total, 11 new Springboks were capped in 2024, with all of them having come through the demanding environment of the Vodacom URC. Alongside other players who have recently established themselves at the international level, the newcomers include the Lions’ quartet of Edwill van der Merwe, Quan Horn, Morne van den Berg, Ruan Venter, and Jordan Hendrikse, who has since joined the Sharks.
The Vodacom Bulls contributed Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Johan Grobbelaar, while Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Ben-Jason Dixon, and Andre-Hugo Venter hail from the DHL Stormers, and Phepsi Buthelezi represents the Sharks.
Simultaneously, a host of players like Aphelele Fassi, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Manie Libbok, Grant Williams, Jaden Hendrikse, Ruan Nortje, Elrigh Louw, and Gerhard Steenekamp have matured into solid Test players after earning their Bok debuts in recent seasons.
“There are a lot of external influences in the Vodacom URC and the weekly challenge is not just playing a different team, but also a different coaching culture,” Van Rooyen was quoted by the Springboks website.
He continued, “I had a discussion with (former Bok assistant coach and now head coach of Bath) Johann van Graan and (former Bok head coach now with Leinster) Jacques Nienaber, and they said the thing that stands out for them in the Vodacom URC is that they’ve coached against more southern hemisphere coaches in this competition than in Super Rugby and/or internationals.
“The variations week to week are also a lot bigger. There’s the travel, different surfaces like grass or artificial or hybrid pitches, and then the weather can differ from 40 degrees one week to minus one another. That adds to the excitement and the planning and detail you need to focus on.
“It’s a great challenge for coaches and players. For the players to experience it and for their development, it will show Rassie (Erasmus) and the national selectors whether they are ready for Test match rugby or not, because of the different challenges each week.”
Van Rooyen further emphasized that the depth fostered by the Vodacom URC offers national selectors a wealth of options that many coaches could only dream of.
“I think it’s helped the national selectors increase the pool of players they can select,” he noted. “We know we’ve got robust and tough athletes. If you look at all of our Vodacom URC teams, there are some really exciting ‘X Factor’ backs in them. We’ve always had tough locks and loosies, and our set pieces will keep on going forward.
“Where we’re fortunate as a country is that national players who fall in the category of number 30 to number 60 now could very easily be number one or two in the next Rugby World Cup and going forward.
“What a position to be in. If you take 1-15 as the A team, then 16 to 30 and 31 to 45 as another two teams, I think the difference between those three teams is minimal.
“So whichever way they want to play, you can pick one of those teams. You can have a really physical kicking pressure team and be the best in the world, or an exciting counter-attack and wide-attack team and be the best in the world. I think that’s the exciting part. The ingredients are definitely there to create something very special.”
Photo: @Springboks/Twitter
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Src: sarugbymag.co.za
