South Africa are getting close to a position of being able to field 3 national teams all offering the same quality, intensity and standards. This is unheard of and why having the right domestic set up is crucial.
I do think there is definitely a correlation between a national teams performance and the league structure that feeds the national team. If we look at the England football team it is no shock that they struggle at international level and are just average. The top players in the Premiership are all foreign players and dilutes the pool when selecting for a national team.
I got onto this topic today because South African Rugby has made another 10 changes to their team for this weekends match against Argentina. It must come as no surprise to hear that the SA team is now selecting from a pool of around 60 players. The reality is they have the right structures in place which allows the next generation youngsters to break through into senior level.
This has not always been the case and not that log ago in 2018 SA was ranked 7th in the World. The difference was to strengthen the national team they changed the domestic league structures moving from an all inclusive competition to a strength vs strength league.
This was in place before corrupt voting took place to allow the smaller unions a voice with the end result being a diluted league no one wanted to be part of. The money left along with the sponsorships leaving the rugby teams earning far less and this took a good 10 years to play out before sanity prevailed and thus we are at this point now of having an abundance of riches with a huge pool of playing talent.
I find it funny how World Rugby works thinking if they manipulate the rules the it would be an advantage to other teams who don't have the player base. Instead all they have to do is look internally at heir own leagues to see where the problems lie. Ireland and France have a highly successful domestic league and why they are high in the rakings.
The English Rugby Premiership is dying a slow death and recently proposed a united UK Premiership league. Ireland would be bonkers to join this especially after Ireland were rejected many years ago when they raised this same idea. England are desperate and would like to join the United Championship at the expense of South Africa which will not happen as SA has the numbers generating the money. Where else do you see 100K supporters filling stadiums for a domestic rugby team? The Irish and French players involved in this particular league are the ones benefiting and why it is making heir national teams stronger.
New Zealand are currently at a cross roads because they have realized playing against Australia clubs has not benefited them in any way and their players are not used to the intensity and physicality being played elsewhere. New Zealand envy what SA has currently and why they asked for longer tours to the country so they can prepare for the next world cup. What SA did by moving away from New Zealand and Australia replacing the with Northern Hemisphere opposition was smart as it has now given them an edge over their rivals.