- New Bulls assistant coach Russell Winter hopes COVID-19 gives SA rugby a renewed appreciation for the social game.
- Club rugby was instrumental in the 44-year-old's development as a coach.
- SA's club rugby scene is substantial, with almost 85 000 players calling clubs home.
Russell Winter hopes the broader South African rugby community will have an increased sense of appreciation for club rugby in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.
This area of the local game has been severely affected by the crisis, particularly after government left it and several other codes' amateur wings in the lurch regarding any resumption.
To put its importance into perspective, no less than 1 177 clubs are home to 84 995 players in South Africa.
Winter, recently appointed as the Bulls' new forwards coach, has a huge affinity for the social game following his three-year stint with England's Newcastle Falcons, where he kindled his technical career by becoming involved with South Shields Westoe in Durham.
"It was just a good old-fashioned social club. It was an absolutely awesome place to start (with coaching)," he told Sport24.
"This was a place where the players turn out on weekends for pure enjoyment and the same goes for coaches and the supporters. Rugby was the only priority. It was so much fun."
The same clearly goes for men hoping to unearth and develop those players.
Winter's time at Westoe laid the foundation for his return to Ellis Park in 2009, while one of his Falcons team-mates, Joe Shaw, was appointed as Saracens' attack and skills guru on the back of winning five prominent English club titles.
"It was an ideal environment. It's obviously not as intense as the professional game, but there was enough ambition around to know that one needed to coach properly," he said.
"I was definitely challenged and it was obviously a very good experience for Joe too. It was immensely valuable."
The realities of the professional game make it unlikely that the majority of South Africa's full-time players will properly experience the raw but beautiful grind of club rugby.
In an ideal world, Winter would recommend it to every player.
"To see and experience that environment is humbling and also rewarding. It's really a place where one can realise how important the basics are, to realise again how far passion can take you," he said.
"Covid's timing has been so unfortunate, not only for the professional game, but also the guys at a lower level. I can't wait for rugby to return. It feels already like it's been forever."