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Jake White's radical idea to make South Africa a Champions Cup force

(Photo by Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images)

Bulls boss Jake White has claimed a radical rethink must happen if teams from South Africa are to dominate in the Heineken Champions Cup. Three franchises – including White’s own club – took part in this season’s 24-team tournament for the first time and while all three progressed to the round-of-16 after the pool stages, only two made it to the quarter-finals and none will play in the semi-finals at the end of April.

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Top 14 giants Toulouse knocked out the Bulls and the Sharks on successive weekends in France while the Premiership-based Exeter picked off the Stormers in their last-eight encounter last Saturday in England.

The demise of the South African challenge has resulted in a general disappointment that its teams don’t have the strength in depth that its European-based rivals have and White claimed that this imbalance won’t be rectified unless a major decision is taken about eligibility to play for the Springboks.

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WATCH as Alan Quinlan and Schalk Burger preview the weekend’s Round 17 URC matches

The 2007 World Cup-winning coach believes that far too many Test players currently play overseas and he wants the regulation to be amended so that if someone wants to play for South Africa, they must play for a local club rather than earn their wage in France, England, Japan and so on.

White was speaking ahead of this weekend’s URC/Currie Cup double-header for the Bulls which sees them in URC action on Saturday versus Zebre Parma in Johannesburg after taking on the Sharks in the Currie Cup in Durban the day before.

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Asked how the South African franchises can become more competitive at Champions Cup level, White said: “We can only do that if we can keep all the best players in South Africa and the way we do that is to make sure that any player who plays abroad is not eligible to play for South Africa. That is the only way.

“If we want to save the domestic game and we want to save the franchises in South Africa and you want to compete at that level, once you put your name down to play in the Heineken Cup you have to beat La Rochelle away, you have to beat Saracens away or you have to beat Toulouse away – then you have to have the best players here.

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“I said it to a French journalist last week when I was in Toulouse, we had three teams in the round-of-16 and if you look at the rest of the teams, look at the players out of Leinster, Leicester, Sale, Ulster, there is probably another three teams there of quality players. You have got guys like Jasper Wiese, Duane Vermeulen, Jason Jenkins, I mean the list goes on and on and on and on. That means that we probably could have six teams in the top 16.

“Now once you put those six teams into four teams (in South Africa) then all of a sudden everything changes. Then you have the ability to actually compete against those best teams (like Toulouse). The way it is now you have got 300 professional players playing aboard and some of them are the best players in our country – you just have to look at the make-up of the national team. That just proves that we need those guys back in South Africa. There is no other way you can do it.

“People debate with me about money, but it can’t be about money. It has got to be about the desire to be a Springbok and the desire to play international rugby because, as I said, if you are wearing a provincial hat, you can’t have a situation where all the best players are playing (overseas). I mean we go and play Duane Vermeulen, who is at Ulster, and it’s bizarre. He could have been playing for the Bulls.

“That is the way forward. I know you are not going to keep everybody but if you get 50 per cent of those guys back and you put them into the franchises, all of a sudden the franchises get better, the Currie Cup teams get better and it filters all the way down. Then you don’t have a watered-down Currie Cup; you don’t have a team in URC that maybe will be okay but the problem is you can’t go the next step up.

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“I genuinely think that if the influx of those players come in, make the four regions very strong, they can compete in Heineken Cup and then it means at URC they will also be very strong which means they should all try and make the Champions Cup.

“Then you go down one level and all the players would have an opportunity to play in the Currie Cup and the Currie Cup would also have some sort of kudos and credence in South Africa.”

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1 Comment
M
Michael Röbbins (academic and writer extraordinair 572 days ago

Extraordinarily stupid, silly take: “only” 2 of 3 progressed? Pretty gol’darn good strike rate for a collective nation’s first go round in the comp. Incredibly higher percentage of teams than all other nations that have been competing in this thing since the beginning. 1/4 of Ireland, 3/11 of England, 2/14 of France, nil from any other country, Jesus wept. This competition has been in recent memory and will continue to be not “Europe” but the “Leinster, Toulouse, La Rochelle” invitational.

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RedWarrior 14 minutes ago
Three-way race to be number one in World Rugby men's rankings

IF SA and NZ win then its 1,2,3 SA/NZ/IRL Otherwise as you were. This is largely irrelevant beyond bragging rights.


As I have pointed out elsewhere the practical use of the Rankings is to determine the seedings bands for the RWC draw. The draw takes place early 2026 and hopefully the rankings will be taken from then.


Important to be in the top 6, the top 12. (and likely the top 4).

This is because there are now 6 groups in the RWC 2027.

If you are in top 6 you are in Seeding Band 1. That means none of the other top 6 will be in your group.

Seeding Band 2 are teams from 7-12, who will have a top 6 team but no other 7-12 team.

After England's defeat by NZ there is clear water between NZ in 3rd, France in 4th and England in 5th. England are desperate for top4, ill come back and explain why later.

Lets look at Seeding Band 1 and 6th place. If you make 6th, no top 6 team is in your group, you are top dog. If you win your group, you won't be facing a top 6 team in your 1/8th final, you will be facing a weaker team. If you fail to make 6th place you WILL have a top 6 team in your group and if you don't win your group you WILL (probably) meet a top 6 in the 1/8 final. That's massive.


Its Argentina holding 6th now. Assuming England hold 5th, then its a 4 horse race for 6th. Argentina, Scotland, Italy and ...Australia. (ranked 6,7,8,9)

Australia play the Lions in NH summer 2025 they are running out of time to get up to 6th for their own RWC. They MUST make a move now. They must beat Wales and they really must beat Scotland to gain points and take points off them. Could they surprise England or Ireland? England may be the better bet but Schmidt knows Ireland so well having masterminded their downfall in France.

Another one to watch is Italy V Argentina. Italy are ambitious and they will want to start pushing the likes of Argentina. If they win this they are still in the hunt. Well worth a watch either way.


Top4: I think the top 6 will be seeded, all the way through from the draw. If thats the case then the top 4 will be seeded to avoid each other until the semi. Good for more certainty around ticket sales etc. That's a possible reason why England want in there. You're not in there you are hitting a top 4 team in a QF. That's an extra 50:50 match you can do without and avoid by being top 4.


Lets look at what Seeding bands might look like with todays rankings:


Seeding Band 1

IRE/SA/NZ/FRA/ENG/ARG

Seeding Band 2

SCO/ITA/AUS/FIJ/WAL/GEO


Sample Aussie strongest pool opponent and 1/8th final opponent if in top 6

Strongest pool opponent: FIJI

1/8 final opponent GEORGIA

Prognosis: advance to 1/4 and potentially beyond


Sample Aussie strongest pool opponent and 1/8th final opponent if NOT in top 6

Strongest pool opponent: SOUTH AFRICA

1/8 final opponent NEW ZEALAND

Prognosis: You know the prognosis


I am pretty sure this is not lost on Joe Schmidt?


Keep in mind when enjoying the matches.

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G
GS 1 hour ago
Are the All Blacks doomed to a 70% flatline?

The key is realising this AB side is not what they are now but what they will be in 2025/26.


You can already see a Power bench forming, and I would highlight that people watch the AB XV game vs Munster and watch Fabian Holland - he, in the next 24 months, will be WC and bring some huge physicality to the team.


Then, aligned with Peter Lakai, probably at 7, another WC talent, the AB pack by 2026 will probably both be starting and on the bench - be rated as No 1 or 2 packs in the world.


Then, there is the usual WC talent around the backline, and the missing link is Mo'unga. Unlike in last year's WC, the coming forward pack for the ABs, is similar to the Bok pack, It will be packed full of power, and the key to this is a realitively young pack.


So I think we will lose to Ireland and France in the coming weeks, but watch out as this pack builds into - I mean, look at the tight five and loose forwards that are coming for the ABs - De Groot, Lomax, Williams, Tosi, Taylor, Ofa T, Samson T, Aumua, Patrick T, Barrett, Vai, Fabian H, Setiti, Lakai, Savea, Frizzell (understand they are attempting to get him and Mo'unga back), Blackadder, Papalii and bar Barrett, Savea, Patrick T, Taylor - pretty young in international terms.


Huge front row starting and on bench, Power locks and usual class in loose forwards - only missing ingredient is a WC 10 and with Mo'unga back probably in 2026, these ABs are trending in a very healthy direction.

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