Bok coaches, SA franchises to plot NZ downfall

The SA Rugby Union announced that they will host the first ever “national coaches’ indaba” in Cape Town from October 19-21.

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Cape Town - At last. After years where the Springbok team was almost rendered as less important than the provinces, South African rugby is going to stand together in pursuit of beating the All Blacks.

The SA Rugby Union announced on Tuesday that they will host the first ever “national coaches’ indaba” in Cape Town from October 19-21.

In attendance will be all the Springbok team coaches – Allister Coetzee, Johann van Graan, Matt Proudfoot, Mzwandile Stick and Chean Roux – along with the six SA Super Rugby franchise bosses Robbie Fleck, Gary Gold, Deon Davids, Franco Smith, Johan Ackermann and Nollis Marais.

They will be joined by the respective franchise conditioning coaches, as well as the rugby department and high performance rugby committee of SA Rugby, while a number of “invited rugby specialists” will also be part of the indaba.

SA Rugby chief executive Jurie Roux told Independent Media on Tuesday that the organisation would provide further details at a later stage, and would not comment further.

But it is understood that the indaba is the brainchild of Coetzee himself, who is believed to have requested it when he first met with the coaches and chief executives of the Super Rugby franchises at the start of his tenure.

Coetzee has come under enormous pressure after an inconsistent 2016 Test season where the Boks have been unconvincing throughout despite beating Ireland 2-1, and then going on to lose three successive away games against Argentina, Australia and New Zealand.

The coach has made some questionable selection calls – such as appointing Adriaan Strauss as the captain even though the hooker was going to retire at the end of the year – and there has been growing criticism of a lack of a clear-cut game plan, with the Boks flirting between playing a more attacking game and utilising the traditional physical approach and capitalising on opposition mistakes.

But Coetzee has also had to find new faces following the retirements of Jean de Villiers, Fourie du Preez and Victor Matfield, while a whole host of experienced Boks are now based overseas. Things weren’t made easier by the fact that Coetzee was only officially appointed on April 12, seven weeks before the first Irish Test at Newlands.

Matters were exacerbated by injuries to Handré Pollard and Coetzee’s first-choice pivot, Pat Lambie, and there have been a number of other injuries too.

But while Coetzee is getting ready for the return Rugby Championship clashes against the Wallabies and All Blacks next month, the indaba will bring together all coaching stakeholders in South African rugby.

And it is believed that the indaba is SA Rugby’s first step in trying to match and beat the New Zealand way of doing things in order to help the Boks win the 2019 World Cup in Japan.

The Kiwis have long been admired for the way the All Blacks are always at the top of the agenda in New Zealand, which has resulted in every franchise playing a similar attacking style to the national team, and where the NZ Rugby Union have a certain degree of control over the players through a central contracting system.

Coetzee is set to be granted the go-ahead for any additions to his Bok management team going forward following the indaba, where discussions will take place on what is needed from the franchises to ensure that the Springbok team is strong and benefits in the long run.

Issues in that regard may delve into the style of rugby being played at each franchise – although all six South African teams have made a concerted effort to play a more attacking game in 2016 – but could go into other avenues such as player management and fitness regimes.

Roux and Stick’s lack of top-level coaching experience in particular could see Coetzee utilise consultants or bring in extra coaches in future, although that must still be decided by the coach and SA Rugby’s head honchos.

The Bok defence has come under scrutiny after a number of mistakes in the All Black game, with Roux – a technical advisor under previous coach Heyneke Meyer – suddenly thrust into the role of defence coach once Jacques Nienaber joined Rassie Erasmus at Irish club Munster at the end of the Ireland Test series in June.

ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za

@ashfakmohamed

Independent Media