Talent within Border junior rugby not developed to full potential

Border Schools Rugby chair Katiso Mosiuoa has called for less infighting and more stability at senior administration level if the youth in the region are to be developed to their full potential.

Mosiuoa says the governance and administration troubles within Border Rugby Union (BRU) have led to instability in its structures.

BRU’s troubles are well-documented and they are currently being administered by the SA Rugby Union (Saru).

Border Schools has been one of the consistent structures in the region, doing well in school competitions,  but there is a feeling that all their hard work goes down the drain and players are lost when they transition to senior rugby.

“The politics and fighting in our senior mother body and also being under the administration of Saru delays us,” Mosiuoa said,

“Once our union is stable and there are no quarrels it will be easier for people to trust what is happening there and invest.

“Once investors invest in the Bulldogs, it’s easy for the money to flow to the amateur structures and then our children also benefit.

“We will be able to condition and equip them to be the best.

“When there are fights it becomes difficult to make progress.

“You approach someone and tell them you’re from Border Rugby and they stop you right away and say ‘sort your house first, you’re under administration’. You tell them ‘we are schools, we don’t deal directly with the finances’ but you still end up suffering.

“When things are stable again they will listen."

Border Schools has a programs that tracks talent from the age of  between 12 and 18. The standout players are nurtured and they are helped with placement in schools.

However, in the past few years, a number of talented schoolboy players have moved to other provinces having received lucrative bursary offers.

For some, the move works out well as it did for for Sharks scrumhalf Sanele Nohamba, but for others it could turn out to be a nightmare.

“The talent that gets lost the most is from ages of 15 to18. They get stolen by provinces with money.

“They come by and bypass the BRU who are fighting. They go to parents and they take what is told to them at face value.

“Then you suddenly find out that the player is in KwaZulu-Natal or Gauteng and you can’t do anything about it because they have arranged with their parents.”

However, Mosiuoa said many players battle to adapt to their new environments.

“When they get to these [other] provinces they find hard conditions because white people are still in charge.

“You’ll find they struggle with language as they don’t understand Afrikaans.

“They can’t grasp the language of instruction in training.

“They then find themselves becoming frustrated and now you have 70% of them ending up not making it to university.

“There they end up competing [with] white children who come from families with money and get first preference,” Mosiuoa .

There is hope of matters taking a turn for the better at BRU.

Speaking to DispatchLIVE last year, Fana Elliot, the chair of clubs and districts in the Border region, hinted at an alliance being formed by Border and EP Rugby.

The interest expressed by the Sharks and the new owners in Eastern Cape rugby gives further room for optimism. 

DispatchLIVE