The South African Rugby Union have come to an agreement with their five Super
Rugby franchises over the management of key Springboks through the 2015 Super
Rugby season.
SARU have agreed with the Super Rugby franchises that Springbok players’
game time will be handled on an individual basis depending on their work load
in the last year as well as injuries, in an effort to ensure the Boks are managed
as well as possible in the build-up to the Rugby World Cup in September and
October.
“We are extremely grateful to the Super Rugby franchises for agreeing
to assist in ensuring our key players’ game time is managed in the build-up
to the Rugby World Cup,” said SARU CEO Jurie Roux.
“It’s wonderful to know we have the support and cooperation of the
franchises as the Springboks prepare for the Rugby World Cup and we’d
like to wish them all the best for the forthcoming months of Super Rugby.
“It’s a massive year for rugby and we’re confident that our
franchises can set the tone for the 2015 season by being competitive from the
word go as the players aim to impress the national selectors to make it to the
Rugby World Cup.”
The managing of the key players’ game time will exclude any matches in
the Super Rugby Finals series (play-offs, semi-finals and final), as
well as the bye weeks, while it was also agreed that no player will play more
than five consecutive weeks. This will also apply to players returning from
injury.
SARU also announced that Prof Pieter Kruger, who holds a PhD in Clinical and
Performance Psychology from the North West University, will join the Springboks’
team management as Performance Psychologist for the duration of the 2015 season
in a consultancy capacity and in cooperation with the North West University
and MyPlayers.
Kruger is currently the Head of the Institute of Psychology and Wellbeing.
He has worked with, amongst others, the Leopards Rugby Union, NWU-Pukke, ACT
Brumbies, Harlequins Rugby Club in the UK, as well as the Chelsea and Arsenal
Football Clubs. Most recently he has been a part of Lions management during
their 2014 Super Rugby and Currie Cup campaigns.
“It’s great to have Pieter on board and I know he will make a huge
difference for the Springboks,” said Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer.
“The field of sports psychology has become vital in professional sports
and we’re grateful to SARU, North West University and MyPlayers for making
it possible for Pieter to join the Springboks.
“Pieter will be attending to both team and individual aspects with a key
focus on performance processes. He will work closely with the coaches to optimise
team and individual performance under pressure and will use the latest intervention
strategies in the field of cognitive behavioural psychology to achieve this.”
Furthermore, it has been confirmed that the Springboks will get their season
underway against a World XV in Cape Town on 11 July, a week after the
Super Rugby final. The match was initially scheduled for late August.
