Free State are the survival kings

Want to know who qualifies as the South African provincial rugby success story of the last decade? Chances are that the question will elicit a divided vote between the Natal Sharks and Western Province, with a smattering of support for the Lions.

There is good reason for this. Starting in 1990 with that famous win under Craig Jamieson, the Natalians have built themselves into one of the most formidable provincial or regional rugby teams in the world. They may not have won the Currie Cup since 1996, but they have always been there or there abouts as challengers.

WP have not been as dominant as in the middle part of the 1980s, but they have rallied well in the past five seasons, during which they have won three titles and played in four finals. You just have to look at the composition of the Springbok teams of the past few years to realise how much talent there is in the Western Cape.

And while I hear those who point to some rather biased Cape selections from Bok coaches over the years, perhaps those who say so need reminding that current coach Rudolf Straeuli, who also has a team dominated by players from the south, holds no special allegiance with WP.

But while there might be some debate over the team of the decade, this should not be the case when it comes to establishing which province qualifies for the mantle of "Best Survivor".

For that you have to look no further than the Free State Cheetahs. It was a view expressed by a South African rugby official in Bloemfontein after last week's game against WP and it got me thinking.

The Cheetahs, unless they self-destruct in the most dramatic fashion between now and the end of the season, should make the Currie Cup semi-finals again this year. When they do, they are second only to Natal when it comes to representation in semi-finals since the system started incorporating these play-off matches back in 1996. The only year when they missed out was in 1998, when they were upstaged in the central region by Griqualand West (that was the year Gaffie du Toit played for Griquas, who were coached by Andre Markgraaff).

They only made two finals, when they were beaten by a solitary point by WP at Newlands in 1997 and Transvaal in 1994, but there is one good reason why the Free State ability to always rank among the contenders is special. For they also happen to be the province that suffers most when it comes to player movements.

Look at the Free State greats of the past decade and you will uncover only one that has not travelled away from Bloemfontein for at least part of his career. The man in question is Andre Venter.

The rest of the players on the honours board have all travelled away. Some have returned, such as Rassie Erasmus and now Os du Randt, who played in last week's curtain-raiser and may not be far away from playing first class rugby again. But there is an extensive list of Boks who have left Bloemfontein for good - Werner Swanepoel, Jannie de Beer, Ollie le Roux, Naka Drotske, Brendan Venter, Toks van der Linde (now retired) and Pieter Muller spring readily to mind. Willie Meyer would be added were it not for the fact he played initially for Eastern Province.

Daan Human, who became a Springbok once he had joined WP, left there early this year. Wylie Human, perhaps a Bok off the not too distant future, went to the Bulls during the off-season. Looking further afield, we will uncover the name of one Braam Els, who is leading the Falcons from the same second row position where he once played for Free State.

Charl van Rensburg, an occasional captain of the Natal team and a pretty useful utility forward, also played for Free State not all that long ago. England based Charl Marais, a Springbok once he arrived in WP, used to hook the Free State scrum before moving to the Cape. And while he never quite lived up to his early potential, Natal winger Stephen Brink, currently injured, was one of an exciting crop of young players coming out of Bloemfontein in the middle part of last decade.

We have not even mentioned former top players like Henry Honiball and Andre Joubert, who made their names playing for Free State while studying at university there. Not for nothing has Free State become known as a secondary arm to Natal. But it is not to just Durban that the Free Staters head. You will find at least one former Free State player in every provincial team in the country.

Faced with this list of exports, you would have expected Free State to curl up and die a long time ago. Indeed, it is amazing that their status as a member of the six team Currie Cup elite is so assured, whereas the Blue Bulls, who are richer by far and have latterly become importers of note, are not so.

It is because they lack the funds of the bigger unions, and not because there is anything wrong with Bloemfontein, which is one of South Africa's more vibrant cities, that the Free Staters will never be safe from the poachers. Already there is talk in the Cape that Hendro Scholtz, that fine Free State fetcher, is on the WP shopping list for next year.

But even if Scholtz does trek south, and in a way I wouldn't blame him for moving as Free State remain the poor partners in the Cats Super 12 franchise, you can bet your last dollar that before long the rugby people of Bloemfontein would have uncovered another gem to replace him.