Inside rugby’s greatest production factoryImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Rassie Erasmus is developing new talent as South Africa build up to their 2027 Rugby World Cup defenceByGareth Rhys OwenBBC Sport WalesPublished1 hour agoThe Springboks’ seemingly endless supply of talent is the envy of world rugby. So why does South Africa continue to produce world-class players at a rate few nations can match?Every rugby nation wants what South Africa have: four World Cups.World Cup winners have retired. Others have headed overseas.Yet the Springboks never seem to run out of international-class players.The recent is 20-year-old Sharks fly-half Vusi Moyo, who will start his first Test against Wales on Saturday in Durban having played just 58 minutes of senior rugby. For many countries, it would represent a remarkable leap of faith. For South Africa, it is becoming increasingly familiar.The obvious explanation is numbers. South Africa has one of the world’s biggest rugby-playing populations. But that only scratches the surface.To understand why the Springboks never seem to run out of players, you have to look far beyond the international team.More than numbersIt is the simplest explanation and, perhaps, the least satisfying one.South Africa has one of the world’s largest rugby-playing populations. But those inside the game insist that is only the starting point.”I think what helps first, obviously, is you need to have a high number of participation,” says Rito Hlungwani, forwards coach at Cape Town-based United Rugby Championship (URC) side Stormers.”I started playing rugby when the Springboks won the 1995 World Cup. Then if you look at it now, we’ve won two World Cups in a row, so that has increased participation across racial boundaries.”That has really increased the number of kids playing rugby.”Participation alone, however, is not enough.”What really drives it is the mentality,” says Hlungwani.”People always talk about the physicality of South African rugby players. Kids these days, that’s all they want to be like. They want to be like the Springboks. They talk about physicality at the age of nine.”It’s pretty much what’s in front of the windscreen that’s driving participation. Kids are learning from their heroes.”Speaking on the Scrum V Podcast, former Springbok Hanyani Shimange says there are clear traits expected of anyone hoping to wear green and gold.
“If you want to be a Springbok you have to be defensively solid, have a high work-rate and a good power game,” he mentioned.
Hlungwani believes it is the mindset, the coaching and the competitiveness that transform promising youngsters into Springboks.
