Gareth Jenkison opens up about Allister Coetzee

Every day, East Coast Drive nominates an individual or group of people for the infamous honour – and we’ve seen some depraved and shocking individuals in the past.

After a dismal 37-21 loss to England on Saturday, I decided that the Springbok coach deserved the title for a day.

The Springboks have had an absolutely dismal year results-wise. Allister Coetzee took over the reins from Heyneke Meyer this year and there was hope that ‘Toetie’ would kick-start a new era of Springbok rugby.

However, his tenure got off to the worst start, as the Boks suffered a first ever defeat to Ireland in South Africa. They managed to sneak a series win, but their follow-up performances were hardly anything to write home about.

Things went from bad to worse in the Rugby Championship. The Boks lost to Argentina for the first time in South America then suffered their biggest home defeat to the All Blacks in history – a 57-15 drubbing in Durban that I had the misfortune of watching from the Kings Park grandstand.

SARU then held a rugby indaba with the top coaches and rugby gurus in the country to try and figure out what is stifling our national team. A lot was said, but the general consensus is that there is a divide between provincial unions and the Springboks. There is a real need to adopt a central contracting system like that of New Zealand – whose rugby system is the envy of the world.

Alas, even after consulting all of the rugby unions as well as taking in Bulls coach Nollis Marais and Currie Cup winning Cheetahs coach Franco Smith on tour with the Boks, Coetzee is winless up north.

We can forgive an experimental Springbok team for drawing with the Barbarians two weekends ago, as we saw the likes of Rohan Janse van Rensburg and Francois Venter prove that they are ready to play for the Springboks.

But what we can’t forgive is the way the Springboks lost to England.

In the wake of the defeat, the Springbok coach laid blame on his players for individual errors. To be fair, there were some fundamental mistakes from certain players that cost the Springboks.

However, their defensive systems were in disarray and England wasted no time capitalising on those errors. The players did their best, but they seemed confused about where they should be and who should be doing what.

This has to come down to poor coaching or a lack of understanding between players and the coach. It certainly seems like the players don’t know what is expected of them on attack and defence – and that comes down to Coetzee not being clear on how he wants his team to play.

There is an abundance of talent at Coetzee’s disposal and many of the up and coming Springboks are extremely exciting prospects. But the coach is holding these players back because he isn’t giving them the support and structures they need to play to their strengths and it is hard to sit and watch players fight a losing battle.

If the Springboks don’t make a marked improvement against Italy this weekend, or lose to both the Italians and then the Welsh a week later, Coetzee should step away from the job.

The Springboks need someone with a plan for the future, or any plan at all, if they are to stop the downward spiral.

If you missed Monday’s Worst Person in the World, listen to it here: