SARU bring back 'quotas'
Quotas, in the guise of 'measurable targets', will be reintroduced in South African rugby next year.
The South African Rugby Union on Wednesday confirmed that "measurable targets" would apply in next season's Vodacom Cup competition.
Although the new term seems more appealing, it is in affect the same uncongenial system – a minimum number of black players that is a must for every team.
In a statement SARU said all 14 provincial teams will be required to pick a minimum of seven black players in their match-day squads, two of whom must be forwards.
A minimum of five black players will be required to start.
The initiative was taken by the Executive Council of SARU on Monday and workshopped with provincial unions on Tuesday.
The numbers were determined in line with SARU's global transformation strategy and having reviewed historical levels of black representation in the competition.
"This decision to introduce measurable targets underlines SARU's commitment to transformation," said SARU President Oregan Hoskins.
"The Vodacom Cup is a critical step on the development pathway in professional rugby, but it had moved away from its primary purpose of presenting opportunities for young emerging players, particularly black players.
"All the 14 provinces recognised that fact and that we needed to address it as strategic objective at our Transformation Indaba last year. That and other decisions were shared with the Department of Sports and Recreation as well as the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee.
"This is rugby's tangible step on delivering on that pledge. The intended outcome is an increased pool of black talent from which Currie Cup and Super Rugby coaches can select and – in due course – more options for the Springbok coach.
Jurie Roux, CEO of SARU, said that no sanctions had been specified, should a province fail to select the required numbers of black players. He said the question and other operational matters around the policy would be addressed by the Games and Policy committee in due course.
Hoskins added that SARU had taken the initiative; rather wait for other agencies to force action.
"The mood of the organisation is that we needed to intervene – and this was coming from the provinces as well – to see the graph of black player representation begin to rise," he said.
The Vodacom Cup has been contested on an annual basis since 1998 and is an inter-provincial competition for all 14 South African unions.
The tournament runs from March to April and, since its introduction, has been the competition in which virtually all Springboks have made their senior provincial debut.
