Bok coach on transformation
Transformation is viewed with great contempt in some rugby circles, but new Springbok coach Allister Coetzee believes if the concept is fully embraced, it “must actually make us stronger”.
|||Cape Town - Transformation is viewed with great contempt in some rugby circles, but new Springbok coach Allister Coetzee believes if the concept is fully embraced, it “must actually make us stronger”.
The 52-year-old Coetzee – the second black Bok coach after Peter de Villiers – spoke passionately about how he was able to pick a team with several players of colour when he was at the Stormers and Western Province, and achieved significant success with a transformed team, which included the likes of Scarra Ntubeni, Siya Kolisi, Nizaam Carr, Juan de Jongh and Cheslin Kolbe.
SA Rugby have stated that their intended target for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan is to see black players make up at least half of the Bok side.
SA Rugby president Oregan Hoskins was adamant at the organisation’s recent annual general meeting that the 14 provinces in the game have to do more to produce black players.
He stated then that the Stormers team were a “beacon of hope for transformation”, and that the other Super Rugby franchises are “feeling quite embarrassed about the fact that they don’t have enough black players on the pitch”.
On Tuesday at the Bok coaching announcement in Johannesburg, Coetzee – who has been appointed on a four-year contract – was asked his views on the “issue of transformation”, and said: “It’s not an issue for me, honestly. This is South Africa. For a national coach, he has to understand that he is living in South Africa. I cannot come with the mentality that I am living somewhere else. It is unique, and I think that uniqueness must actually make us stronger.
“At the Stormers, I was faced in Super Rugby with the same challenge, and it’s an exciting challenge. I selected players and they performed. And they were merit-based selections, and they really performed well – so much so that when I left, we were still Currie Cup champs and we won the (Super Rugby SA) conference with a well-transformed side.
“So I really see it as a positive and something that all South Africans can support, and be proud of their team.”
As part of their transformation plan going forward, SA Rugby appointed former Springbok Sevens captain Mzwandile Stick as the Bok backline mentor, with the 31-year-old set to earn his coaching spurs alongside Coetzee.
Stick retired in 2013, and won the national title as the head coach of the Eastern Province Under-19 side last year, while he is in charge of the Southern Kings’ Super Rugby backline.
“Mzwandile Stick has performed well at Under-19 level, and I know it’s just Under-19 level. And I also understand the uniqueness of our country. He’s played sevens at a national level, he has coached at junior level and Currie Cup level, and he is currently at Super Rugby level,” Coetzee said of his fellow Eastern Cape product Stick.
“It is also my duty and one of my KPIs (key performance indicators) to make sure that I bring Mzwandile Stick through as a coach. I’ve been involved with the Springboks from 2004 to 2007 as a backline coach, and I make it my duty to see that Stick will be ready for this job.”
ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za
@IndyCapeSport
Independent Media