POLL: Is the Rand killing local rugby?
Despite Stormers front ranker Frans Malherbe turning his back on a lucrative contract to play in France, it seems the alarming exodus of South African players could kill local rugby.
Newly-appointed Stormers co-captain Malherbe has proved that there is still loyalty in the game of rugby and that money isn't an overriding factor.
Malherbe revealed that he had turned his back on a massive offer from French giants Toulon and decided to stay at Newlands.
He cited his desire to play for the Springboks and his love for Western Province to keep playing his rugby at home.
SA Rugby still hasn't got a clear policy on picking overseas-based players, but Malherbe, who has 12 Bok Test caps, has been widely tipped as a successor to Jannie du Plessis in the Bok front rank.
The bearded prop told Netwerk 24 that representing the union he grew up supporting is an honour and that not many players had the privilege to play for the team they supported from a young age.
At age 24 and barring serious injuries, Malherbe certainly still has a potentially long road to travel as a professional rugby player.
With an extremely weak Rand, it is no secret that local franchises cannot compete with the pulling power of the Euro, Pound or even US Dollar when it comes to contract negotiations.
Blue Bulls Company High Performance Manager Xander Janse Van Rensburg has often admitted to me, in the course of conversation and the occasional interview, that negotiations are very difficult when dealing with a player's inviting counter-offer from abroad and has had to concede defeat on a number of occasions due to budgetary constraints.
Yes, there has been an alarming exodus of players in the past few years.
Granted, many of them are in the twilight of their careers, but it is scary to think how in recent years, the likes of Bakkies Botha - who has since retired - and Bryan Habana were listed among the highest paid players in Europe.
So in the context of what I have raised, we have to commend Frans Malherbe for turning his back on the mighty Euro and instead pursuing his dream of continuing to play for his franchise and country.
Let's hope, form and fitness permitting, that his decision will pay rich dividends.
Malherbe's decision comes on the back of an mounting exodus of players who have packed their bags to go and play in France, England and Japan over the last few years, where they get paid huge amounts of money.
The question remains...