Jake White: Equity deal not enough to bring Boks back

SPOTLIGHT: Bulls Directory of Rugby Jake White believes SA Rugby’s potential private equity deal with Ackerley Sports Group (ASG) won’t be enough to lure top Springbok players back to South Africa.

Earlier this week, SA Rugby answered questions about their negotiations with ASG, who has emerged as the preferred bidder.

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If a deal is reached later this year, it would mean a major cash injection in South African rugby.

However, White believes that won’t stop players from leaving the country.

The Bulls boss believes SA Rugby needs change to its policy around overseas-based played representing the Boks.

When asked if the equity deal will encourage players to stay in SA, White responded: “I am not sure that is a given.

“I am not convinced that if we have all the money in the world it’s necessarily going to change.

“It has to be a policy. It has been quite widely broadcasted [by Rassie Erasmus] that having overseas-based players coached by overseas coaches and being paid by rich overseas clubs is a model that works for us.

“I am going to keep telling you as a guy who wears a Bulls cap that if you want the franchises or the provinces to be strong, we need to be allowed to pick our best players and keep our best players in South Africa.”

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#SPOTLIGHT: Jake White says Sanele Nohamba is doing it the ‘French way’ 👇#URC #Lions #Bulls #LIOvBUL https://t.co/6fwsizlxp3

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White added: “It’s not hard and it’s not difficult to understand. We need those big-name players playing here week in and week out.

“We need them to be able to beat sides like La Rochelle and Leinster consistently.

“Hopefully, if we get this massive equity deal it would mean that someone would make a decision that, given there’s is no need to moan about money anymore, we can now bring our best players back to play in South Africa”