The Springboks could be on high alert shortly with the new NRL side Perth Bears looking to attract some of the best rugby talent from South Africa to fill the junior pathways.

The new expansion side will join the premier rugby league competition from 2027, and could look over the Indian Ocean to foster their long-term future.

Springboks on high alert after latest NRL expansion

Speaking on NRL360, former NRL star Billy Moore, who played for the Bears in a previous guise, detailed that the new franchise could look to target the very best 14-20-year-olds from South Africa to ensure the pathways are in place to build success in Perth.

“100%, that’s our beachshed to go into rugby union and South Africa are the world champions,” he said.

“The opportunity for 14 to 20-year-old South Africans to move from Johannesburg or Pretoria to come and live in Fremantle is a no-brainer, and we can give them that opportunity to do that.

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“The pipeline will grow; it’s our job to fill the pipeline.”

“In North Sydney, there are 2000 juniors. In Perth right now, who’ve had no exposure to the highest level of rugby league for 28 years, they have 6000 registered players; so the juniors aren’t there yet.

“With the Dolphins (the newest NRL franchise), they took players from one side of Brisbane to the other, but the Bears have to take players from one side of Australia to the other.”

The Bears are one of the most historic sides in NRL history, with newly named Wallabies boss Les Kiss among a fine cohort of former players. They initially competed as the North Sydney Bears in the NRL, but, fell out of the competition at the end of the 1999 season.

The Bears still compete under the name North Sydney in the NSW Cup, but will re-enter the NRL in 2027 as the Perth Bears after an in-principal agreement was reached to create a franchise in the city.

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Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/springboks-put-on-high-alert-as-nrl-team-target-no-brainer-offers-to-fill-the-pipeline