With the start of the newly revamped Super 15 this last weekend it certainly brought to many of the older past players attention just how fast the game has grown since their playing days. We barely have time to come up for air these days and we are all back preparing for yet another season. For the modern day professional players life in the fast lane has become a lot more hectic of that there is no doubt. The powers that be have to have a serious look at the make up of the rugby season and decide what is important for the game and which players play in which competition. Every fitness guru or Sport Scientist will concur that the body will not take all this punishment in the current season fixtures, no matter how the body has been shaped in the gym. To me we are getting closer and closer to a Global rugby season with everyone playing the game between Feb and October(9months)including all the internationals in the same window period. I would also advocate that we play our brothers in the Southern Hemisphere with the Tri-Nations every 2 years, with the alternate year being a tour of a country whereby you can play against provincial teams and try out your future Springbok players in a less intense atmosphere like a test arena, plus you spread the game of rugby in the rural areas of the country you are touring.

For me however I was particularly pleased to see the launch of the Varsity Shield Rugby Competition showcasing the lesser known Universities. After many years in the doldrums our local university now known as FNB UKZN Impi have had a new lease on life and it couldn’t have come at a better time in this their centenary year. Student rugby is so important for the game in this country and we have to acknowledge the immense contribution that UKZN has made the game over the years.

When one considers that they have produced three Springbok captains in Tommy Bedford, Gary Teichmann and John Smit as well as some pretty influential legendary coaches and administrators such as Isak van Heerden, Peter Booysen and Basil Medway just to name a few we do have to take our hats off to them. One can only hope that they can rebuild from here and rejuvenate the game on their respective campus’s in Durban and Pietermaritzburg.

From all of us at the SA RUGBY LEGENDS ASSOCIATION we wish the UKZN Impi’s well and raise our glasses to another 100 years of rugby excellence.

To all the other Universities and Colleges involved in the Varsity Cup we too wish them well and hope that by playing rugby at this new level of competition they will raise the bar with respect to playing standards, but more importantly all of these teams playing in both the Shield and the Cup now have the opportunity in getting out there in their regions to promote the game at grass roots level. Once you become a media personality it is now your duty to put your exposure to good use and what better than encouraging the masses to play the wonderful game of rugby

WINNERS TAKE CHANCES AND LIKE EVERYONE ELSE THEY FEAR FAILING BUT REFUSE TO LET FEAR RULE THEM WINNERE NEVER GIVE UP (KITCH CHRISTIE 1995)