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At last – now let’s get on with the game After a painfully drawn-out process, word from the inner sanctuary of South African rugby is that Heyneke Meyer is in the inside lane to be named Springbok-coach on Friday. According to sources, Gert Smal was one of the favourites for the position, but ultimately opted out of the race because he was not free to select his assistant-coaches, a decision that apparently infuriated him.
Allister Coetzee recently admitted that he was not in the race. Some rugby-websites have questioned the decision to overlook him as he was the SA coach of the year in 2010 while his Stormers-team also won the SA conference in 2011, resulting in a semi-final appearance against the Crusaders at Newlands.
Meyer was the coach of the Blue Bulls when they won the Currie Cup in 2002, 2003 and 2004, and the team also triumphed in the Super14-competition in 2007 after reaching the semi-final stage in 2005 and 2006.
Meyer (44) is a visionary – a man whose ability to build structures and whose incredible motivation and ability to dissect opponents’ tactical strengths and weaknesses will make him a superb choice for the position.
One of his great assets is his humility.
His acknowledgement of his own weaknesses and his ability to rope in appropriate experts to coach has contributed to his multiple successes at Loftus.
But the prescriptive approach and dogmatic style of the South African Rugby Union (SARU), who consistently want to write the agenda in terms of representation of black players and coaches in the Springbok structure, will challenge Meyer and he won’t have the carte blanche to do it his way.
Pieter de Villiers, the outgoing Springbok-coach, bemoaned the decision by SARU to appoint the new coach only in January, saying the long-winded approach did nobody any favours.
He is right of course.
SARU might have acted decisively and quickly instead of waiting this long.
There have been rumours and half-truths circulating the past month resulting in much uncertainty and harmful speculion.
Whoever the right man for the job is, he would struggle not to do something special with what could be a gifted Springbok-squad in 2012.
It would be difficult not to expect Jaque Fourie and Guthro Steenkamp making themselves available for the Springbok-squad, while Frans Steyn is sure to feature prominently.
Changes in the engine room
Apart from the Springbok-engine room – where Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha and Danie Rossouw will be absent -- there will be enough depth in all other apartments for the Springboks to be competitive.
The biggest challenge for Meyer would be to gain the respect and support of South Africa’s Super Rugby coaches, as well as the Currie Cup-mentors. Provincialism and self-serving coaches and presidents have long been a challenge to most of the Springbok-coaches.
Also, SARU must support the coach by embarking on a quest to strengthen the under-23 group of players in the country.
They should set up an under-23 competition and use academies and provincial structures to strengthen the base of ‘transformation’ players.
South Africa fields a great number of black players at school-boy level, but too many of these players disappear between the ages of 20 and 23. Why is this relevant to the Springbok-coach?
Simply because there will be enormous pressure on him and on the Super Rugby-coaches to field more black players.
But to expect Meyer and the Super Rugby coaches to be Superman and make anything happen overnight, is ludicrous.
Meyer is the right man for the job. The traditionalists will complain because he did not represent South Africa.
But given the right support and allowed some freedom to put specialists in key-positions, Meyer might truly excel and become one of the best coaches this country has had since the golden era of Kitch Christie, who won 14 tests out of 14 with the Springboks.
One of those victories was the Webb Ellis Trophy in 1995.
Meyer might not be another Christie or a Jake White, but it is not impossible that the Boks under Meyer could win the equivalent of a Tri Nations trophy within the next two years.
Like the Springboks, the Australian and New Zealand teams have lost key personnel, but South Africa have enormous talent, depth and quality in almost all the positions.
They have the game-breakers at the back and up front. Under Meyer they will also embrace the same values and work-ethic that were evident under White.
Remember, Meyer was a key man during the 1999 World Cup, and he featured prominently in establishing a new rugby-dynasty for the Bulls at Loftus. Thanks to his long-term vision and his professional approach the Bulls might be realistic Currie Cup- and Super Rugby-contenders for many years.
Many critics would be annoyed about the decision to sideline Coetzee as possible coach.
Unfortunately, the former Springbok backline-coach has failed to grab silverware since he became the coach, like the performance of the Stormers in the Super14-final of 2010, and their major disappointment of the Super Rugby-competition against the Crusaders as semi-finalists in 2011.
Meyer was not completely out of the picture since this clear favourite to become White’s successor in 2008 was ousted for reasons related to transformation to accommodate De Villiers.
He was the coach of the Leicester Tigers until 2009, and has been the director of rugby at Loftus since 2010.
Meyer would be able to count on a core group of 10 Springboks with more than 40 tests experience, as well as another group of 20 with at least 15 test caps experience.
And please don’t forget about the huge talent of a Jaco Taute, Johan Goosen, Elton Jantjes, Patrick Lambie, Piet van Zyl and Sewes Oosthuizen, to name just a few.
Eat your heart out, Steve Hansen and Robbie Deans, you will battle to field the same quality.
But luckily Meyer would be there to remind his troops it’s not only about the talent, but about the desire and the hunger to win the trophies.
