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South Africa Confirm MEA Championship Presence

S

Stallion

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7,467
Dakink said:
No mate no problem here either, just unusual for union in SA I would have thought.
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Perhaps there may be alterior motives at play from union? Or maybe they see the benefit of better overall footballers being produced with rugby league centric rules in vogue! ? Nevertheless it's about time the superior version of rugby in league got given a go !
 
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adamkungl

adamkungl

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Dakink said:
No mate no problem here either, just unusual for union in SA I would have thought.
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If one accepts that neither code is ever going to be completely wiped out, a forward thinking organisation of either Rugby could see the benefits of being at least accommodating of both.

There would be some significant prestige in succeeding at both.

While two Rugby codes might slightly cannibalise each others' audience, if the two are both successful their combined audience would be significantly above what either one of them could achieve alone.

There is significant crossover appeal and benefits for both fans and athletes.

Honestly it would be really great to see South Africa, Ireland, and then Argentina and Japan have a serious crack at League. The player pool of professional Rugby athletes would see a rapid rise for any of those countries.
 
adamkungl

adamkungl

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Chasing Kangaroos podcast had a segment on South Africa in their last ep.

Raised some good points.
Suggested a potential motive for SA Rugby - the potential for crossover players and coaches who have succeeded in Europe and Australia by bringing some Rugby League attacking concepts into Union.

Playing second fiddle in SA is better than playing no fiddle at all, IMO
 
S

Stallion

First Grade
Messages
7,467
adamkungl said:
Chasing Kangaroos podcast had a segment on South Africa in their last ep.

Raised some good points.
Suggested a potential motive for SA Rugby - the potential for crossover players and coaches who have succeeded in Europe and Australia by bringing some Rugby League attacking concepts into Union.

Playing second fiddle in SA is better than playing no fiddle at all, IMO
Click to expand...

It's a shame the principle of "Live and let live" doesn't apply in some aspects of society.
 
titoelcolombiano

titoelcolombiano

First Grade
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6,664
adamkungl said:
Chasing Kangaroos podcast had a segment on South Africa in their last ep.

Raised some good points.
Suggested a potential motive for SA Rugby - the potential for crossover players and coaches who have succeeded in Europe and Australia by bringing some Rugby League attacking concepts into Union.

Playing second fiddle in SA is better than playing no fiddle at all, IMO
Click to expand...

I like that episode and the podcast as a whole but I didn't agree with that point. If that was the true motive then they can just go and hire RL coaches from England or Australia.
 
adamkungl

adamkungl

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titoelcolombiano said:
I like that episode and the podcast as a whole but I didn't agree with that point. If that was the true motive then they can just go and hire RL coaches from England or Australia.
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Can't hire League players to play Union for South Africa though, unless they have League players.

I think its very hard to argue against the idea that having 2 strong codes of Rugby isn't beneficial for both.
NZ England Australia Fiji France Wales all play both well.

The Wallabies are in a slump from their glory days but it isn't because Rugby League exists, it's because theyre a shambolic organisation
 
titoelcolombiano

titoelcolombiano

First Grade
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6,664
adamkungl said:
Can't hire League players to play Union for South Africa though, unless they have League players.

I think its very hard to argue against the idea that having 2 strong codes of Rugby isn't beneficial for both.
NZ England Australia Fiji France Wales all play both well.

The Wallabies are in a slump from their glory days but it isn't because Rugby League exists, it's because theyre a shambolic organisation
Click to expand...

I agreed with everything up until France and Wales - lol
 
yakstorm

yakstorm

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6,134
Well already off the back of the agreement, the SARL has conducted its first Schools program in Pretoria in years, and had the opportunity to play a match at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, which I don't believe has ever happened before.

So already it is opening doors for League, so it is worth it.
 
J

Jim from Oz

Juniors
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748
yakstorm said:
Well already off the back of the agreement, the SARL has conducted its first Schools program in Pretoria in years, and had the opportunity to play a match at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, which I don't believe has ever happened before.

So already it is opening doors for League, so it is worth it.
Click to expand...

"…and had the opportunity to play a match at Loftus Versfeld Stadium,…"
What game was that Yakstorm? THX
 
adamkungl

adamkungl

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Has anything new come of this in the last 6 months, or is anything exciting happening in SA this year?

Aside from the obvious MEA Championships
 
yakstorm

yakstorm

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6,134
So in 2019, the South Africa Rugby League Sports Association saw a 41% increase in registered players from the 2019 season, with the total number of affiliated clubs increasing by over 30%.

The main club competition in 2019 saw 66 matches take place.

Rugby League was played in 7 provinces across South Africa, up from the previous 4, and for the first time a 'youth program' was introduced, with the SARLSA hosting what they called 'derby days' at schools across Pretoria and Johannesburg where they would teach the kids basic drills before holding 9's matches.

Over 60 schools took part in the 'derby day' program.

The SARLSA, with support from the Australian Embassy, introduced a Community program as well which tied Rugby League to the Education curriculum in under privileged areas in South Africa.

The first U19s clashes were also held in 2019, with an Under 19's competition to be built by the clubs over the coming seasons.

The 'derby day' and community programs will continue into 2020. The Provincial Competition, has increased from previously just being 4 teams to now 6, and the current club competition is the largest it has been, I feel ever, with 14 clubs competing for the Rhino Cup.
 
adamkungl

adamkungl

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That sounds really encouraging

Can you give us a bit of a rundown on how their competitions currently work?
Their website is a bit out of date.
Seems like they have provincial rep competitions, and club competitions within each region, or cross-region? What is the Rhino Cup?
 
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