Rugby should be open with a free flow of players and I do not think we would suffer a meltdown - too much talent and too deep a pool to be exhausted.

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Just on Australia - just imagine how Rugby Union would take off down under IF they allowed unlimited foreign players into their clubs and their Super 14 teams - we of course would suffer a melt down.

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As in swimming we should know if a player gains bulk and weight to gain strength, what is the deterioration of his speed and vice versa.

What is the players speed and strength and is he getting better season by season or is he deteriorating and if he gets better or worse is this because he is looked after better or neglected by his handlers.

Some unions will do this better and the results will show in the players performance and confidence.

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Not included in this list of course are all the Eastern Cape rugby players who go unnoticed and untracked and unmonitored.

So when they do appear because they happen to have been plucked from “obscurity” by one of the existing 5 franchises and their union affiliates the mental and physical change is all to swift and there is no progression.

It comes down to a national data base in which we should know who is the:

1. Fastest back & their time over 40m
2. Fastest loose forward & their time over 40m
3. Strongest front row forward and what do they push in weight training as in bench press and squat
4. Strongest back and what do they push in weight training as in bench press and squat
5. Fitness levels
6. Stamina
7. Time played in various competitions
8. Positions played

That way we know how to bench mark and where to benchmark talent in the national graph.

The Sports Science Institute has a database of over 5,000 rugby athletes, that include Bryan Habana, Brent Russell, Joe van Niekerk, Schalk Burger and others as they see these people and measure them sometimes years before you seem them on SuperSport so we should be able to establish a mapping study of forwards and backs.

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Who coach the coaches?

Do they simply coach because they completed a couple of courses years ago and come from a rugby (playing) background?

Who assess their states of mind and improves that?

Coaching is not only physical, but also mental, and we are too conservative when it comes to embracing this.

I have worked with players before, and apart from their rugby coach you are also their best friend, mother, father, pastor, marriage councellor, psychologist, etc.

It is a tough uncomprimising field to be in, and you have to possess the right skills mentally to be successful.

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Way, way down in my past I viewed - runners and running - as the dumbest sport EVER.

Then I took it up for many years - and learned a lot !!!

The dumbest runner know what you are talking about.
Fancy word is periodization !!!

Over-training is the biggest no-no in running IF - yes if, you want consistent HIGH results.

Now if you want to turn into a mediocre plodder - given your potential - all you have to do is ignore the facts and go on with you flat-out training and running races week in and week out.

And all of this was very, very common knowledge way back in 1990.

Eish that is 18 YEARS ago.

He he he - guess - running is not the dumbest sport any more

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SA rugby is run and played from a day-to-day, and week-to-week basis where it is mainly the case of the tail wagging the dog from which players, and effectively teams and continuity in teams suffer most, and the results will also show this.

The demand placed on professional players is unrealistic, where an amateur mindset specifically in media and supporters want to dictate a professional setup.

Just because people watch or have watched rugby for 10, 20 or 30 years does not make you an expert.

The fact that I have seen doctors in action over 100 times does not make me an expert in the field of medicine.

The fact that I spent 8 hours a day with a CA or accountant certainly does not make me an expert in finance.

Professionalism should be embraced as a whole, or not at all.

We are continually trying to find a middle-ground and everyone is suffering.

SARU and SA Rugby need to make the tough calls and manage their business professionally.

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