Former Springbok centre Brendan Venter has backed SA Rugby's foreign-based player policy that comes into effect on 1 July.

SA Rugby announced two weeks ago that only foreign-based Boks with 30-plus Test caps will be eligible for national selection after June. However, Bok coach Allister Coetzee can select any player during a World Cup year.

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Venter, who is currently part of Italy's coaching staff, but is expected to join Coetzee's team after the Six Nations, has given his full backing to the policy.

'I'm now of the view that a blanket ban would not represent an ideal solution for South African rugby because the national team is currently in a transitionary phase. So we need to keep our options open and build the most competitive unit from players based locally and abroad,' Venter wrote in a column for the The Times.

'It's too simplistic to say that New Zealand and England are the most dominant rugby nations because they select exclusively from home-base players. It's not a case of one size fits all and we need to devise South African solutions to South African problems.

'England, for example, do not face the struggle of competing with richer currencies, so they are able to hold on to top players. New Zealand contract players centrally, which affords them complete autonomy.'

Venter urged South African rugby fans to support the policy, as he believes it will have long-term benefits for the Boks. 

'It’s going to serve a purpose. Although it’s impossible to completely stem the player drain caused by the weak rand value and other factors which exist, I foresee the impending rule discouraging young stars from leaving South Africa and encouraging others to come back to the country to experience what the Springbok environment is like going forward,' he wrote, citing prop Steven Kitshoff, who is leaving Bordeaux at the end of the season to return to South Africa as an example.

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