Upcoming URC derbies: Rassie confirms Bok stars out of action to get more rest

The Springbok players should be enjoying a thoroughly deserved break at the moment and the upcoming local United Rugby Championship (URC) derbies may be bereft of their star players over the next month.

There are still four more local derbies to be played in the competition, with the Stormers, Bulls, Sharks and Lions all playing in two of them.

But in contrast to the Bok-heavy derbies that were witnessed in December and January, the ones in February and March should be very different.

Late last month national coach Rassie Erasmus confirmed that the Bok players who had toured with the squad over most of last year, despite how many games they had played, are mandated to receive at least over a month of uninterrupted rest.

Other resting protocols have to be followed as well, but that is at the discretion of the franchises who can allow players a week off and then have them back the following week, while injury recovery doesn’t count as official resting.

Resting protocols

“There are different protocols for guys who are in and out of the Springboks squad (over the year), and guys who are in it the whole time. For those guys who are in all the time, they have what I think they call ‘braai and holiday’, and they need five weeks of that, which is non-negotiable,” explained Erasmus.

“So five (continuous) weeks are set in stone, while the other three or four (weeks) are return to training and return to contact (protocols).

“It’s a difficult thing for a franchise to manage a guy like (Lions scrumhalf) Morné (van den Berg), who was with the Springboks the whole time but only played three games, so when is his break?

“But between MyPlayers (the players union), us (SA Rugby) and the franchises, we are finding ways to get it right, but they have to take five weeks (off) in a row.”

Since returning to their franchises after the November international window, most, if not all, of the Bok players have been playing regularly, unless injured, so the best time for them to have their break is now during the Six Nations, when just a few URC matches are being played.

It still remains to be seen what the franchises have decided to do, but they have most likely given those players their time off, and they will thus be unavailable for the upcoming derbies.

The Sharks and Bulls will be the most affected by this, followed by the Stormers and then the Lions, who have the least number of Bok players in their squad.