Rassie allays 20/20 concerns
24 Jun 2010
Rassie Erasmus says the IPL-styled rugby competition won’t contribute to player-burnout and that its success could lead to further opportunities for the 20/20 format.
News of the proposed International Super Rugby (ISR) tournament broke on Sunday, and the response from the public and media has been predominantly negative. The breaking story prompted more questions than it answered, and its confirmation that the new ISR would model itself after the money-spinning Indian Premier League led to all sorts of negative connotations.
WP senior professional coach Rassie Erasmus and lawyer Frikkie Erasmus are part of the consortium that will manage the tournament, and have come out in defence of the newly-proposed format. They had only planned to address the media once everything had been finalised in the next two months, but the leaking of information last Sunday has resulted in an earlier explanation on how the competition will work.
The rules and format are yet to be finalised, but the competition will be staged over a three-week period in January 2012. Over 200 of the world’s best players will compete across eight privately-owned franchises for a lucrative cash prize. Games are 20 minutes a half, hence the reference to cricket’s Twenty20 format, and will be played at the two new World Cup stadiums in Cape Town and Durban.
Player management’s become a touchy topic at Test and Super Rugby level, and by 2011, coaches will have to plan according to the extended Super 15 tournament. By 2012, Argentina will have joined the Four Nations. How can you justify playing another tournament before the rugby year even starts?
Rassie Erasmus believes fears of player burnout are unnecessary, and that contracted ISR players will benefit from playing in the tournament.
‘As a coach in the Super Rugby tournament, I am aware of the concerns,’ he told keo.co.za. ‘While I’m involved in ISR in a personal capacity, I’m still the senior professional coach at the Stormers and Western Province. If ISR threatened the players’ well being in the Super 15, it would be a conflict of interest.
‘There won’t be more rugby if you think about the fact that each ISR game is 20 minutes a half, and that during that time of year, players are already conditioning themselves for Super Rugby. What people also need to realise is that we’re not taking an entire team away from the coaches, but merely the world’s best players. It’s not like each Super 15 team will lose 15 players.’
Erasmus said that while players will be contracted for a three-week period, the competition takes place over two weeks. The week preceding the competition is spent planning and training. Once the tournament kicks off, there are seven match days over a fortnight, and on each day four games will be played over a three-hour period.
Frikkie Erasmus is involved with the contracting of players, and is certain that 90% of the targeted group will be available following the 2011 World Cup.
‘The tournament will be staged at the ideal time, because most players will come off their contracts after the 2011 World Cup, and can be contracted for the three-week period in January 2012,’ he told this website. ‘As we all know, a lot of players from South Africa, New Zealand and Australia plan to leave their respective countries after a World Cup and pursue the Euro in the northern hemisphere. South Africans go to Europe for the money and nothing else. Now they won’t have to.’
This will benefit South African players who don’t quite make the Springbok cut. Many talented players have sought a bigger pay-cheque and greater playing challenge after failing to crack a regular place in the national side. With the kind of money bandied about in ISR, the better provincial players won’t have to defect to Europe. According to the Erasmus pair, rugby players are set to earn the same kind of money that’s earned in the IPL.
‘There will be a bid for each individual player, but there are rules that need to be respected,’ said Frikkie Erasmus. ‘Different players will fall into different categories, so obviously you can’t pick 15 players in the same category. We are still working on the formula to ensure every team remains competitive, and it’s not a case of the richest team dominating.’
The consortium is currently in talks with Saru and the IRB, and hopes to secure the backing of both bodies. Although this is not necessary given ISR is considered a separate code to the one governed by said bodies, Rassie Erasmus feels it will be better if everybody was on the same page. In the long-term, the 20/20 format could be utilised in other competitions.
‘All that’s wrong and boring about rugby can be solved in this format, which is why people need to give it a chance,’ he said. ‘We are working out the perceived problem areas at this stage, but it’s a very exciting thing to be a part of. It’s meant to entertain, but it’s still good rugby.’
By Jon Cardinelli
176 Comments
Pages: « 1 2 [3] 4 » Show All
24 Jun 2010, 11:07 am
What an absolute load of rubbish!! RUBBISH!! RUBBISH!! After a long 10 month season of rugby – players and fans (yes – us) all look forward to a break from the game over the December/January and early Feb summer holiday season. So, too, do our wives and girlfriends…
Who honestly gives an absolute iota of a damm about some innocous, bastardised, version of the game???? Who cares – it’s absolute rubbish!
1)They’re not playing for any international team (ie – so no appeal to “country”).
2) They’re not playing for any province or provincial franchise (ie – so no appeal to province – ala the Currie Cup and Super Rugby).
Who are they playing for?? NOBODY. NOTHING. Nothing – but their pockets. Wow – let’s all get excited about pumping more money into the pockets of individuals playing for nothing but themselves. Sure… NOT!
Who gives absolute toss about, say, for example, the Cape Town Mountaineers playing the Port Elizabeth Wave Riders or the Jo’Burg Gold Diggers…??????? WTF??? Who honestly gives a sh#t???????
January is a time for the beach, hiking, outdoors, around the pool, rock pools and skinny-dipping, summer holidays, QT with loved ones and family, parties with friends, going away, more wild parties, enjoying everything that is summer – NOT for watching a stupid, bastardised, version of rugby!
I, for one, will not be wasting my holiday season party money on this k@k!
24 Jun 2010, 11:08 am
Only boring thing about rugby right now, is Rassie and his lawyer, Frikkie something or other…
Eish!
24 Jun 2010, 11:09 am
@David(David)-92:
skerp daai David 
24 Jun 2010, 11:16 am
@Mafoota(Mafoota)-102: isn’t that Frikkie chap related to the country and western singer Tommy Dell?
24 Jun 2010, 11:20 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-103:
Yeah, I got a wake up call this morning finding out that it will cost me R8,500 to fix a few small problems with my wifes car.
24 Jun 2010, 11:23 am
Thumbs up for Erasmus for taking the iniative for bringing in new ideas.
24 Jun 2010, 11:24 am
@Mafoota(Mafoota)-97:
you’re
a speedster
too
?
24 Jun 2010, 11:26 am
@Nick Armstrong(Nick Armstrong)-101:
an january
uses
january
to fill up
the
sheetbag
to the brim
24 Jun 2010, 11:35 am
How can you honestly expect Rassie to offer an objective opinion on this matter when he has a vested business interest in the ISR?
24 Jun 2010, 11:36 am
@David(David)-105:
you should send her to that insurance company that only insures women.
and watch the rands roll in.
24 Jun 2010, 11:38 am
@ PORRA no 108 – LOL!
Yeah – seriously – who gives a toss about a bunch of gluttonous rugby-whores playing for nothing but their pockets?? When you could be skinny-dipping with some babes or on a beach somewhere…??? Loving the summer fun – or watching this k@k???
Lol – it’s a no-brainer.
Who still watches the IPL cricket anyways??? What a load of k@k! Never mind – with their gluttonous greed – they will slowly kill the passion for that version of the game……
And – there’s infinitely more money in (and passion for and interest in) organised rugby. If this rubbsih interferes with the preparation for Super Rugby – the unions could challenge either the players or the organisers themselves…
If a player wants to play in this k@k – then don’t select him for Super Rugby which commences in February…
24 Jun 2010, 11:45 am
@gunther(gunther)-110:
It’s just small mechanical issues, not damage.
24 Jun 2010, 11:53 am
Honestly now Rassie…
How would you feel about this competition if you were still a player?
24 Jun 2010, 11:56 am
@David(David)-112:
gearbox?
you know what they say..
if you can’t find it grind it.
24 Jun 2010, 12:03 pm
@gunther(gunther)-114:
No, fuel pump, lines and brakes plus service.
24 Jun 2010, 12:05 pm
I think Rassie and Frikkie are missing the point here. Money? Who is going to sponsor this shite?
7′s is our 20/20 and its hardly a format that is as well supported as 15′s in terms of spectators and sponsors.
Rassie wants to be the next Rupert Murdoch.
No wonder WP is battling to win anything, if this is what Rassie spends his time doing!
24 Jun 2010, 12:06 pm
‘There won’t be more rugby if you think about the fact that each ISR game is 20 minutes a half, and that during that time of year, players are already conditioning themselves for Super Rugby. What people also need to realise is that we’re not taking an entire team away from the coaches, but merely the world’s best players. It’s not like each Super 15 team will lose 15 players.’
Geez Rassie, you seriously question the intelligence of some rugby lovers.
This competition is not about the amount of game time or a trade-off between play time and training time.
There are logistical issues associated with a tournament like this. Travel schedules.
There are mental conditioning issues for players, who were looking forward to a cold beer and time with their families.
My gut, however, tells me that most players will fall for this farce. Anything to make a quick buck. Sadly, the fans will follow too, at least over the short-term (and I will probably be a guilty party too).
As a Super 14 franchise coach, you should be a mentor for the players, knowing when your resources require physical and mental conditioning. You should discourage them from taking part in such a spectacle.
However, you are wearing the hat of a typical business tycoon who is trying to exhaust his labour force in order to make a short-term profit, whilst ignoring the long-run economic benefits of not participating. But don’t worry, this is a typical problem in business, which now seemed to have syphoned through to sport.
You know better than this Rassie.
24 Jun 2010, 12:09 pm
‘All that’s wrong and boring about rugby can be solved in this format, which is why people need to give it a chance,’ he said. ‘We are working out the perceived problem areas at this stage, but it’s a very exciting thing to be a part of. It’s meant to entertain, but it’s still good rugby.’
What exactly is wrong and boring about rugby?
What do you aim to see more or less of in general?
What can you see more or less of in 20 minutes a half?
Comparing rugby to cricket is a false foundation for your premise anyhow.
24 Jun 2010, 12:12 pm
A better approach would be to promote Sevens Rugby.
Very entertaining and at least this is a game-type in which valuable skills can be learned and shaped.
Which strings would a player be able to add to his bow in the 20/20 format?
A greater attacking acumen such as in 20/20 cricket? How are you going to facilitate it in 20 minutes a half Rassie?
24 Jun 2010, 12:14 pm
@willievz(willievz)-119:
You’re taking this one badly… let it go son
24 Jun 2010, 12:17 pm
rassie
is now
going to
transform
from a
failed coach
to a failed
businessman
24 Jun 2010, 12:18 pm
@Bod(bod)-120: The problem is that I will let it go eventually.
I will fall for this farce.
So will the rest of the rugby public.
24 Jun 2010, 12:20 pm
@willievz(willievz)-122:
Its not going to happen, so dont worry about it…
24 Jun 2010, 12:27 pm
As it is we are suffering from an overload of sporting Stimuli. Most people don’t even care that there is cricket on in the West Indies at the moment. The brain can only take so much….
24 Jun 2010, 12:29 pm
@ WILLIEVZ – well said mate! 3 fantastic posts – perfectly put.
However – one thing – we (the fans) will NOT buy into this k@k. As I said in my post – WTF – who cares about a bunch of rugby-whores playing for nothing/no-one but their own pockets.
Pointless and meaningless for the rest of us. They’re not representing country or province in any organised rugby tournament or international Test – ie POINTLESS RUBBISH.
We won’t be watching or buying – we’ll be on the beach and buying at the club or bar.
Unions must tell players – if they play in this sh#t instead of going through official Union-sanctioned conditioning programmes – then they won’t be selected for Super Rugby.
Simple.
24 Jun 2010, 12:35 pm
@Nick Armstrong(Nick Armstrong)-111:
@willievz(willievz)-117: Well said guys! Of course Rassie will defend this – cos he stands to profit from it.
I totally agree that this is a waste and further over-extends our players.
If there is no loyalty (eg country, province etc) then there is no emotional attachment or desire to watch the games.
This is a bad idea – there is nothing wrong with rugby – this was easily the best year of SuperRugby (maybe not if youre a Kiwi) but the games and scores were great.
24 Jun 2010, 13:09 pm
1. You won’t ever get a straight answer out of Rassie.
2. If I were WP I’d be questioning his loyalties and seeking compensation.
3. I see Smit and co are in, no surprise there, he’s making payday even longer. Another reason to not focus on the Sharks.
4. 7s is the short form, there is nothing wrong with the long form, it’s certainly not boring.
5. More fans will bypass this than watch it, unless someone pays for TV rights then it doesn’t matter.
6. This whole thing illustrates what is wrong with rugby : greed.
24 Jun 2010, 13:15 pm
‘All that’s wrong and boring about rugby can be solved in this format, which is why people need to give it a chance’.
So Rassie has his business hat on right now. I think it’s greedy and unneccesary.
I wonder how the ‘top players’ contracts are structured and if they are ‘allowed’ to partake in other competitions….either from a national perspective of provincial.
24 Jun 2010, 13:17 pm
@goyougoodthing2(goyougoodthing2)-127: point number 6 is on the money….excuse the pun.
24 Jun 2010, 13:25 pm
think this idea is pathetic…Rassie would say its a great idea etc coz its going to fill his pockets..pathetic.
24 Jun 2010, 13:28 pm
@foreverrugga(foreverrugga)-130: If they want to do something like this rather televise a couple of interprovincial warm up games (to break the Christmas rugby draught) like the ones between Sharks and Stormers at the beginning of this season. Rassie’s idea is nothing but a money making scam.
24 Jun 2010, 13:33 pm
I’ll start the facebook profile: I hate 20/20 rugby.
Join me…..
24 Jun 2010, 13:34 pm
@foreverrugga(foreverrugga)-131: That is a great idea, but I’d prefer to see proper Bok trials before the test season.
24 Jun 2010, 13:44 pm
@logie_Jumpbuck(logie_Jumpbuck)-132: i hate facebook just as much as i hate 20/20 rugby.
@David(David)-105:
good one buddy.
24 Jun 2010, 13:51 pm
@goyougoodthing2(goyougoodthing2)-133: Ja that would also be really excellent, they must get them started again and televise it.
24 Jun 2010, 13:52 pm
@rangerman(rangerman)-134: did you piss of an ex and now you’re hiding your face or do you genuinely not like facebook? i’m just asking….
anyway, back to the topic at hand.
rassie has come a long way since his Despatch days, but this is too much.
24 Jun 2010, 14:02 pm
@rangerman(rangerman)-134:
rangerman… well I never!
At last, someone of true class that detests that godforsaken Facebook as I do.
I dont know which I hate most… Facebook or Twitter
24 Jun 2010, 14:07 pm
@logie_Jumpbuck(logie_Jumpbuck)-136: i genuinely dont enjoy getting friend requests from people i have successfully avoided for years.
my exes are sad, not angry.
24 Jun 2010, 14:13 pm
@Bod(bod)-137:
ranger is hiding from a his other wife and kids in Margate…
they are after him for kwazulunatalimony…
24 Jun 2010, 14:15 pm
@Bod(bod)-137: If you post on Twitter does that make you a “twitter”, a “Twit” or a “twat”??
Or all of the above?? (sorry Bob, I really like and admire you and all but seriously….it’s not that interresting)
24 Jun 2010, 14:15 pm
@rangerman(rangerman)-138: fair enough.
@gunther(gunther)-139: hahaaa…
24 Jun 2010, 14:16 pm
@Bod(bod)-137: i have had my monthly keo rant about how twitter an egotistical wan kathon.
no wonder keo gives it such prominence.
do i really care what he thinks about when he is having a poo or cooking dinner?
no.
in fact, i dont care what anyone elses 30 word thoughts are. give me well reasoned argument or comment and i may pay attention.
twitter is the fast food of idiotic social commentary.
24 Jun 2010, 14:17 pm
@gunther(gunther)-139:
how did you hear about that?
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-140: it makes you a tunc.
24 Jun 2010, 14:17 pm
@gunther(gunther)-139:
ol ranger rates himself a bit…
First he reckons his wife looks hot in a bikini and now he reckons his ex’s are sad, not angry.
I dunno…
24 Jun 2010, 14:19 pm
@rangerman(rangerman)-134:
Thought you’d enjoy it.
24 Jun 2010, 14:19 pm
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-140:
In the case of or midget host’s tweets that we are now subject to… I would go for all three
24 Jun 2010, 14:21 pm
@rangerman(rangerman)-142:
Who am I to argue such prophesy??
I concur 400%
24 Jun 2010, 14:26 pm
@Bod(bod)-144: hehe, they are sad they ever met me.
see how easy it is to put words in someones mouth?
@Bod(bod)-147: yip yip yip.
24 Jun 2010, 14:26 pm
@Bod(bod)-144:
ranger’s exes are sad because they new him before he was famous…
@rangerman(rangerman)-143:
thangyaverymuch..
I’ll be here all week.
24 Jun 2010, 14:28 pm
And then you get the next marvel of all intellectual inventions by those wanting to be part of the in crowd.
The poll…. yes…. the poll
Do you think the Boks will win by 50… yes or no?
Who really cares and what earth shattering inpact is the “outcome’ going to make???
Strange things these polls…
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