SA Rugby high-performance GM Dave Wessels says World Rugby should adopt a Fifa-style compensation model to reward South African schools and academies that develop players later recruited overseas.
Several SA schoolboys headed to the UK after matriculating last year, including ex-Rondebosch and SA U18 flank Josh Neill, who joined Leinster’s academy before representing Ireland U20.
In a lengthy interview with SA Rugby magazine, in which he discusses the systems driving South African rugby’s success, Wessels argues that the current set-up benefits the player’s new club and national union, while offering no reward to the structures that produced the player.
When asked by SA Rugby magazine if the poaching of South African schoolboys by other countries is an inevitable part of the modern game, Wessels replied: “It’s not inevitable. There are mechanisms used in other sports that we could adapt to rugby.
“We would like World Rugby to follow the Fifa model, which forces professional clubs to pay compensation to all of the schools and academies that played a role in the development of a player from the age of 13.
“It works well in football and would be an important way for the professional game to support grassroots rugby here.
“It would be fantastic if our schools could be compensated for the great work they do, which would enable them to fund bursaries and other opportunities for the next generation.
“At the moment, the system rewards the buyer and punishes the developer. That’s the wrong way round.”
Photo: @leinsterrugby/X
The post Wessels calls for SA schools to be compensated appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
SA Rugby high-performance GM Dave Wessels says World Rugby should adopt a Fifa-style compensation model to reward South African schools and academies that develop players later recruited overseas.
The post Wessels calls for SA schools to be compensated appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
