SOUTH AFRICANS have added another dimension to local rugby. Both the Guernsey Rugby Club and St Jacques boast Springboks in their ranks and the clubs admit that their arrival on the scene has been a tremendous fillip.

Ever since he took over as head coach at Foote’s Lane, Rob Box has been able to select some outstanding South African players and although he knows that they are here for a limited time only, he sees them as invaluable.

Not only do they bring quality to the side, they also help the guys around them get better.

‘What it does [having the South Africans in the squad] is it breeds confidence and desire. Everyone else wants to play as well as them. It gives them an enthusiasm to improve, which helps me in our coaching sessions because they are motivated,’ Box said.

‘When I first took over, I had a chat with the players and I said: ”I know you can all play rugby, you know your strengths but do not be afraid to try something different. If it does work the first time, try it again and again until you get it right.’

‘I wanted the guys to have the confidence to try things like chip kicks and grubber kicks and know that they would not be criticised if it didn’t work.

‘But it is when they see others do it that they get the confidence to try and, all of a sudden, it all comes together.’

Last season one of the Guernsey stars was the outstanding full-back Velde van der Merwe, while Divan van den Heever and Dewald van Wyk both filled the crucial fly-half position at different times as the Sarnians won promotion from Hampshire One.

This campaign has again seen South Africans play an integral part in Guernsey’s success, with the half-back pairing of Willoughby Bloem and Werner Stroh being a match made in heaven for Box.

‘In the summer we had five South Africans turn up in total, but straight away we just knew these two were class,’ said.

Bloem shone in his first game for the club, the pre-season friendly with mid-Glamorgan, and has not disappointed since. His decision-making shows maturity beyond his years and his ability to exploit a gap in the opposition’s defence is superb.

Outside him, Stroh is subtly creative with ball in hand and is a not-too-shabby kicker either although it is his strength for a guy of his size that Box finds remarkable.

‘Both are 18 and just want to try everything – they know no fear,’ he said.

Forward Joubert Thompson is another Springbok that the coach believes will go on to have a major impact with the club, although Box does have one problem with his South African contingent.

‘They talk Afrikaans to each other and I haven’t got a clue what they are on about,’ he chuckled.

‘In the last game, Werner kept talking across to Joubert on the sideline, then he put in this tackle and when he got up he started laughing.

‘Apparently he had been telling Joubert that he was going to put the hardest tackle of his life in, but there’s me in the middle trying to understand what they are saying and getting nowhere.’

The news that Bloem and Stroh will soon be leaving the island was obviously a blow to Box and he said ‘they will be sadly missed’, but he believes the South African influence will remain for a long time to come.

‘I think that there will always be someone South African in the side because that is the way things are going on the island at the moment,’ he said.