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'IT'S PATHETIC AND PETTY': BOBBY DEFENDS SA TEAMS AGAINST EURO CRITICISM

By Warren Fortune
Wednesday 29 May 2024
Comments
70


SPOTLIGHT: Bobby Skinstad believes the criticism levelled at South African teams
over their participation in European competitions has been ‘unfounded’.

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The South Africans have enjoyed early success since they moved north.

The Stormers won the inaugural United Rugby Championship in 2022 before securing
another home Final in 2023.

The Sharks became the first South African team to win an EPCR tournament when
they outplayed Gloucester in the Challenge Cup Final last weekend.

However, South Africa are still viewed by many in the north as outsiders in
those competitions.

Things almost reached a boiling point in April when Bulls Director of Rugby Jake
White was in the firing line for leaving his best players at home ahead of a
Champions Cup quarterfinal against Northampton Saints in England.

White was quite vocal about the travelling issues and it didn’t sit well with
some Northern Hemisphere pundits and fans.

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During a URC media round table this week, Skinstad was asked if that criticism
was harsh and unfair.

The story continues below…



“Absolutely,” was his response.

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“I think it has been unfounded, pathetic and petty.

“If you look at the evolution of where rugby is trying to take itself, we’ve got
hard-working and industrious leaders of all of these leagues. They are trying to
put ingredients for 10 different types of output into one baking tin, which is
hard.

“You are going to have a few mistakes and there is going to be things that go
wrong.

“There will be scheduling issues and change of participation issues.

“South African teams have been the poor latecomer to the party, so I think we
are punching above our weight.

“I have seen some completely unfounded comments about ‘Send the South Africans
back to where they came from’.

“South Africa brings a lot to the table and they bring good, big and difficult
matches.”

The story continues below…





Skinstad added: “The Bulls coming on tour with not all of their starting
line-up, but now still competing and potentially being able to end on top of the
table in the URC just means that they planned well with the resources they had
at hand.

“It’s a fact. It is not up for debate and Jake White is a wily old character.

“He has been around the coaching game for so long that he knows when to turn the
proper engines on.

“I’m a passionate South African. I’m not going to hide from that.

“Any criticism levelled at South Africa hurts me and I get angry about that, but
I do understand where it comes from.

“We are outsiders, we are latecomers, we are Johnny-come-latelys in these
tournaments. But, do you know what, we just won one of them and we have won the
URC already.

“So, I think we deserve our position.”

@rugby365com



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