Jy is klein skooltjie en klein skooltjie sal jy bly.
That’s my summary of Western Province and the Stormers’ decision to sign New Zealander Shaun Treeby earlier this week.
Is there any point in trying to break through the “system” via the club route? I don’t think so.
It would be silly of me just to slam them for bringing in an experienced player that has been there and done it before, especially given the injuries suffered by the franchise.
My question, though, is why do they then still bother with a Western Province Amateur side? Is that the ceiling for club players?
What the big boys in rugby need to understand is that there are still club players with ambition of wearing the Streeptrui of the Stormers.
Naturally, when the franchise does suffer a lot of injuries in a particular position, it will excite the next-in-liners.
It happened to a player such as Chad Solomon too earlier in the year.
With Scarra Ntubeni out injured, the Stormers were quick to bring Ramone Samuels back to the Mother City.
Would Samuels have been part of the squad if he didn’t leave the franchise first to play his rugby at the Lions where he got the opportunity to play at Super Rugby level?
I know the Stormers looked for a specific type of player – a Treeby type of guy.
They’ve apparently even tried to get hold of forgotten Bok JJ Engelbrecht – also a big guy with some experience.
But if you’re that desperate to bring in a guy from New Zealand, why not use your own system to blood local talent?
A player like Harlon Klaasen comes to mind.
Having moved from Boland to play for Hamiltons last season, he was simply phenomenal and was rewarded by a call-up to the Western Province side.
He is still part of that team and would’ve probably been wide-eyed at the possibility of playing Super Rugby.
Anyway, let's talk club rugby instead. The season isn’t in full swing just yet, with just three games being played this weekend.
Durbell travel to the Danie Craven Stadium to face Victorians in search of their first win of the competition after they were shocked 49-36 by UniMil last weekend.
Coach Isma-eel Dollie’s side trailed 31-8 at the break and bounced back to send a strong warning to the big dogs in the league.
Brackenfell, another team that performed well last season after winning promotion to the Super League A, continued their rise to beat SK Walmers 47-29, but face a moerse test against Hamiltons this week.
It doesn’t get easier for Walmers this weekend as they host defending champions False Bay.