NRL: Roosters recruiter seeks talent in SA

Willie Mason could be on the way out. Photo / Getty Images

The Sydney Roosters are seeking new talent in South Africa - because of the success of Kiwis in the NRL.

The search comes as the Roosters lick their wounds after being surprisingly ambushed by one of their former under-20 stars who left for opportunities elsewhere, winger Antonio Winterstein, in the 28-24 loss to the Broncos on Friday night.

Roosters recruitment manager Peter O'Sullivan has spent the past week in the Republic, according to the Australian newspaper, looking over emerging talent from the rival code as he looks to bolster the club's stocks for next season and beyond. O'Sullivan is understood to be targeting young players with potential, rather than existing stars.

South Africa has been largely untouched by NRL clubs, although a number of players were targeted during the Super League war. Of those, only ex-Springbok Tiaan Strauss proved a hit. Since then, South Africa has been forgotten, as has rugby union as a major source of players.

The Roosters would find it difficult to match the money on offer in South Africa at domestic and Super 14 level - but they could entice teenagers looking for an opportunity to escape the country, where positive discrimination and racial quota systems have left many athletes frustrated and seeking alternatives.

"I think that Peter thinks it was worth going over there just to have a look," Roosters chief executive Steve Noyce told the Australian. "Sometimes you have to take the road less travelled. He hasn't gone there with any specific brief."

The Roosters have been mired in controversy in recent weeks. Forwards Willie Mason and Nate Myles made their returns to the first grade against the Broncos after being dumped to the NSW Cup for breaching the club's drinking policy.

While Myles is close to signing a new contract, Mason has been the subject of ongoing speculation he could be released at the end of the season if he can find an offer overseas.

He may not be the only player leaving at season's end. Veteran forward Craig Fitzgibbon and fullback Anthony Minichiello are yet to discover whether they are part of the club's long-term plans.

Against that backdrop, O'Sullivan has taken the opportunity to scour new markets in the search for talent.

The recruitment guru - credited with discovering stars Israel Folau and Greg Inglis when he was at Melbourne - was poached from the Storm with a charter to build a side that can be a perennial challenger for the NRL title.

With the salary cap limiting the Sydney club's ability to chase big names, O'Sullivan has set about building from the ground up. That means pursuing players with potential rather than established stars, which represents a shift from the club's long-standing policy of pursuing some of the biggest names in the game.

"I guess we have seen the number of Kiwis who are doing well in our game," Noyce told the Australian. "There's only limited spots in the Wallabies or Springboks. Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

While rugby union was once fertile ground for rugby league clubs, professionalism proved a turning point. In recent years, the Australian Rugby Union has pillaged the NRL of some of its most prominent players, most notably Lote Tuqiri and Wendell Sailor.

Only last year St George Illawarra centre Mark Gasnier and Bulldogs star Sonny Bill Williams made the switch, with both of them joining cashed-up French rugby union clubs.