Straeuli's boldness surpassed by SA Rugby boardroom decision

They were talking of a new era when Rudolf Straeuli named five new caps in the first Springbok test team of the year.

With 12 changes from the side that played against the United States in Houston last December, the team to face Wales in Bloemfontein does have a newness about it.

The new coach has a team which is also well equipped to play new-age rugby and I sense an excitement in the air in the buildup to this test match which would not have seemed possible back in the dark days of the Super 12.

But the most dramatic step forward into the future of this past week did not come with Wednesday's Springbok press conference. A call to Rian Oberholzer to confirm the changes to the Currie Cup system on Monday morning was probably one of my most exciting moments of the year.

"You mean that this is all official and a decision has been made? There is no chance potentially disaffected parties might over-turn the recommendations of the consultancy company?"

As one who has become used to the vacillations of top rugby administrators and the politics that happens behind the scenes, it was reasonable for me to ask the question.

But Oberholzer gave the answer many wanted to hear: "It is all finalised. A few details need to be thrashed out at our June 26 meeting, but otherwise we are set for lift-off."

And so seven years of a 14 team Currie Cup with its sloppy rugby, poor defence and lopsided results was consigned to the scrapheap of history.

Well, not quite, because we do still have the 14 team competition this year.

But from next season the old strength versus strength system will return, with the top six unions (SA Rugby are still to decide how this will be arrived at) battling it out for the Currie Cup.

The other eight teams - there is a possibility two of the smaller unions will fall away and be absorbed into a bigger unit - will fight it out for the right to top the second division and presumably they will get a chance to earn promotion through promotion-relegation.

Having seen in the 1980s what one bad year can mean to a strong union like Natal, I am not so sure that I support the promotion relegation idea. Once in the second division a top province will lose many of its players and will find it very difficult to dig themselves out of the hole and return to the elite competition.

It is also true that with the Super 12 having been added to the schedule since the days of strength versus strength, the top players, who already complain about being overplayed, are going to be faced with an even more arduous and debilitating schedule.

But those are both minor problems which can be ironed out with proper management and consultation. They should not be allowed to detract from the overwhelming positive effect they should have on both the strength and depth of the game in this country and the interest levels of the public.

Empty stadiums had started to become too frequent under the old system. While several of the smaller unions had their purple patches where huge crowds would turn up to support them, you still got the impression that a large percentage of people in those areas pledged their allegiance to the nearest biggest province.

For instance, it was not uncommon to see more blue and white flags in places like Brakpan and Welkom when Western Province played there than those from the host province.

Tougher games on a weekly basis will also improve the quality of the South African defensive play, which has been undeniably lax during the past few Currie Cup seasons.

Former Bok coach Harry Viljoen was right when he put some of the blame on his team's failures on the last overseas tour on the fact that his players had not been challenged enough when it came to breaking opposing defences down during the Currie Cup.

It is easy to understand how a player who has been allowed to slip tackles at will during the Currie Cup might suddenly feel out of his depth when the next game he plays is against the "in-your-face" French at Stade de France.

The problems which come with having too many teams, and hence too many players, in the top domestic competition have also been highlighted in cricket. Several top players blamed the demise to the Aussies last season on the poor standard of the domestic competition, and after watching several of the local games I dare say they have a point.

An elite competition will have the effect of improving the standard of rugby and at the end of the year, when the Bok coach selects his squad for an overseas tour, he will have a much better idea of the players' ability to play at the top level.

As Nick Mallett used to always say in response to the hype surrounding new Currie Cup stars, we will never know how good we are when we are just playing against ourselves. At least now we will be pitting the best against the best.