Bok coach calls for collaboration

A mix of current Super Rugby, former Springbok and provincial coaches as well as administrators, former players and other role-players came together on Wednesday to take part in what can be described as a rugby intervention.

The national team has had a torrid start to life under coach Allister Coetzee for various reasons. The departure of a number of senior players and a lack of a succession plan has left the Springboks thin on experience and it has showed on the scoreboard. This year, the Springboks have won four of their nine games – while suffering their heaviest ever defeat to the All Blacks a few weeks ago in Durban.

It must be noted that the Indaba itself was not a knee-jerk reaction to that 57-15 drubbing at Growthpoint Kings Park. The meeting had been planned in the weeks before and the intellectual capital present in Cape Town will look to help South Africa out of the rugby doldrums it’s found itself in.

“At the beginning of the year when I visited the Unions I mentioned that we need to get together and speak about this. Whether my win record was nine from nine, it still would have been a necessity to be together in a format like this and make sure we have a reality check,” Coetzee said.

“We are living in our own little kingdoms and we are hoping and thumb sucking that we are the best rugby nation in World rugby.”

“I would like to have a look at what we want out of this Indaba. We want to strive for rugby excellence and continuous improvement enabling us to become the top rugby nation. We’re not the top rugby nation at the moment. How are we going to get there?”

Coetzee said he wants to collaborate with franchise coaches to figure out where things are going wrong in terms of coaching and playing philosophies.

Considering that players spend the majority of the season playing rugby for their Super Rugby and Currie Cup franchises, Coetzee believes that the development of players at that level needs to be of a high enough standards to enable players to assimilate into any team environment.

The Bok coach also wants to discuss succession plans to ensure the continual development of players and coaches that can step seamlessly into the Springbok setup.

Solutions to various problems will not be a quick fix but Coetzee seems to be to start a new page in South African rugby, where the various provincial franchises put the needs of the national side before their own – which New Zealand have done for more than ten years.

However, the Bok coach stressed that he would not begin to dictate how teams should play the game. He only wants players to be upskilled so that they don’t struggle to adapt to the pressure of Test rugby when they are called up to the national side.

“For me, national and franchise rugby cannot exist and operate in isolation. A national rugby strategy won’t dictate game plans for any team, that’s not what it’s about,” Coetzee said.

“Whether you want to attack off 9 or 10 or both, that is not what this is about. It’s about a national strategy that will equip our players to adapt to any type of game plan coaches want them to play.

That’s what we need, a national strategy. We need collaboration with the expert individuals sitting here plus systems that can measure, monitor and execute these objectives.” 

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