SA rugby talent targeted worldwide: Poaching or smart strategy?

OPINION: South African players turning out for overseas clubs – and even representing other national teams – is nothing new. It’s a pathway that Scotland, in particular, have embraced extensively.

A similar trend is evident in the United Rugby Championship and the Champions Cup – competitions that include South African teams.

In this weekend’s Champions Cup and Challenge Cup semifinals alone, nine South African players were involved, despite no South African side reaching the play-offs in either competition.

Those players were scattered between Toulon, Bordeaux Bègles, Bath, Ulster, Exeter Chiefs, Montpellier, and the Dragons. The fact that all of those teams have South African representation – with Leinster and Bath also headed by South African coaches in Jacques Nienaber and Johann van Graan – speaks volumes.

At the 2023 World Cup, 15 of Gregor Townsend’s 33-man squad (45 percent) were born overseas, more than any of the other nine tier-one nations.

At the 2019 spectacle in Japan, 14 of their 31 (45 percent) players were born elsewhere. Four of those players for the 2023 spectacle in France – WP Nel, Pierre Schoeman, Kyle Steyn, and Duhan van der Merwe – were from South Africa.

While Scotland are not the only country to field a strong foreign presence at World Cups – with Italy and Wales also up there, while New Zealand and Australia have of course always had Pacific Island representation in their teams – their numbers are the most significant.

Of the Tier One nations, only South Africa and Argentina’s squads didn’t have any overseas-born players at the last World Cup. In 2019, the Springboks only had Tendai Mtawarira, who was born in Zimbabwe, while Argentina didn’t feature any foreign players in Japan either.

Outside the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup, URC squads based beyond South African borders also feature many South Africans.

Glasgow Warriors have captain Kyle Steyn, with versatile loose forward and Pumas skipper Ruwald van der Merwe incoming ahead of the 2026/27 season. Munster have Springbok World Cup-winning lock Jean Kleyn, Cardiff have scrumhalf Johan Mulder, who has had stints with the Lions, Bulls, and Griquas. At the same time, Namibian international Le Roux Malan will exit the Sharks at the conclusion of the current season to join the Scottish team.

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Shayne Bolton has made Connacht his home after representing Shimlas in the Varsity Cup and emerging as a bright prospect who also impressed in the SA Rugby Under-21 Championship. Former Stormers, Bulls, and Lions front-rower Francois van Wyk is also loading on their roster for the 2026/27 edition.

Veteran tighthead prop Tom Botha and centre Evardi Boshoff both officially extended their stays with Ospreys this week. Edinburgh pack a South African punch with Boan Venter, Schoeman, Van der Merwe, and Harry Soboil, a former Western Province and Rondebosch Boys’ High talent who was part of a Scotland U19s squad.

Cheetahs export Marnus van der Merwe will join Munster from Scarlets ahead of next season, while Jarrod Taylor has been with the Welsh side since 2024.

If you were to consider the South Africans playing in England and France, and especially Japan, the list would be extensive.

While some teams have more South Africans or other foreigners than others, the biggest issue is teams where overseas-born players make up a significant part of the squad.

This week, the Daily Mail reported that Scotland are building their next ‘golden generation’, with South African twin age-grade stars Josh and James Mackenzie, who have reportedly emerged as long-term targets for Scotland, on their radar.

The publication further reported that Scotland, in an attempt to increase their national depth and boost domestic sides Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh, are looking worldwide for players who qualify to play for Scotland.

The current Scotland team includes SA-born Schoeman, Van der Merwe, and Steyn, while captain Sione Tuipulotu was born and raised in Australia.

But the Scotsmen’s spirited approach to foreign talent acquisition isn’t limited to South Africa.

Western Force utility back Bayley Kuenzle is the latest Super Rugby Pacific player to sign with a Scottish side, while Edinburgh have recruited Crusaders scrumhalf Louie Chapman and Hurricanes centre Riley Higgins, who have both put pen to paper for next season.

Kuenzle made the wider Wallabies squad in 2024 and also represented Australia A in 2022.

Again, Scotland aren’t the only country who have widened their nets to outside talent but, at the moment, they are making their mission much clearer than anyone else.

So, is the rest of the rugby world just to sit back and watch as countries and clubs from the north fill up their shopping carts in South Africa and other southern hemisphere countries?

According to the latest eligibility rules, players can qualify by birth, through ancestry if a parent or grandparent was born in the country of interest, or the five-year residency rule, which was increased by two years after the 2019 World Cup.

Yes, the commercial reality plays a big role; the South African Rand simply cannot compete with the strongest global currencies. Players also have to look after themselves, their families, and secure their futures for life after rugby; one injury can end their careers.

Professional rugby players have a career of around a decade and a half, sometimes longer, if they’re lucky. Also, with the great talent pool South Africa have, not every players is going to make the top. So, it’s understandable that players would be tempted to make the money move.

But the rate at which foreign recruitment or poaching – let’s call it what it is – is done, and how it is done, leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.

It’s often heard in rugby circles how scouts from Top 14 and Premiership clubs circle Craven Week grounds.

It feels like an exploitative approach, especially where young players are the target, that cruelly reminds us of the harsh reality – money talks.

So, should we simply accept that this is just the way it is? That a country like South Africa is constantly bettering their grassroots rugby and development pathways just so a country like Scotland or any other nation with stronger currencies can swoop in and reap the rewards?

There’s probably not much that can be done about it, and there’s reasonable cause for players to head abroad.

But it would be a pity if we got to the point where rugby teams win trophies – at the World Cup, especially – where only half of their team are from that country.