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Gary Boshoff
One of the things Ruan Pienaar, Butch James, Brent Russell, Peter Grant, Meyer Bosman, Andre Pretorius, Earl Rose and Morne Steyn have in common, other than the fact that they are all top class flyhalves (except in the case of Ruan Pienaar whose preferred position is scrumhalf), is that at one time their coaches felt that flyhalf was probably not their best position and that they would be of greater value to the team in another position.
Now I know that this topic has been discussed to the point of boredom, but in my opinion it is such an important issue and one which I believe coaches get wrong more often than they get it right. It is important because the careers of two of South Africa’s greatest young talents (Pienaar and Steyn) will in all probability be decided by how they perform in the upcoming Super 14 competition.
After two good performances for the Springboks on the 2008 year-end tour, Pienaar has all but been scripted in as everyone’s first choice solution at flyhalf, this despite his pronounced preference to play scrumhalf. On the other hand Steyn has been pencilled in to alternate with him at flyhalf for the Sharks, while he will also be required to play inside centre in some games. His preferred position is flyhalf.
This, the coaches tell us, are all being done in the interest of South African rugby and ultimately in the interest of the player who will, unbeknown to himself, discover that scrumhalf/fly half is after all not his best position.
Given the opportunity
There is one thing wrong with this scenario namely: shouldn’t the players’ preference count more, especially when the player himself is prepared to compete for the position at stake. It seems as if from time to time coaches tend to assign themselves more wisdom than what they can be credited with and in the process delay or even destroys the careers of talented players.
At one stage our top coaches felt that James “would be the ideal inside centre” and given the opportunity he would make the position his own. The record shows that the few games he played centre for the Boks was way below par and the experiment was eventually dropped.
Butch returned to flyhalf where he is presently earning his living in the lucrative English Premiership.
Russell first came on the scene as a flyhalf and well as South Africa’s saving grace against Australia – he did not last long after experiments at fullback and wing did not produce the desired outcomes. He eventually settled as a wing/fullback and has not played flyhalf since.
Similarly players like Grant, Bosman, Pretorius, Steyn and Rose has been tried at centre and fullback, and all of them are presently back at flyhalf.
The fact is, the player more often than not knows best where he can add the most value to a team and that will almost always be in his preferred position. Coaches, on the other hand, look at the skill sets available to them in the context of the team and then decide to move players around to suit their game strategy to achieve the desired results. That is their job. They should not be crucified for that.
However, when the future development and careers of talented players the likes Steyn and Pienaar, run the risk of being delayed or even derailed, by selecting them in positions while they would rather play in others, rugby administrators and coaches should sit up and pay attention.
Huge mistake
I recall the case of a young Pierre Spies who played No 8 the major part of his high school career and then made the SA Schools side as an eighthman, was turned into a wing by the then schools coach Eugene Eloff. It was believed that he could become South Africa’s version of Jonah Lomu.
The question nobody asked was what and who would he rather be? Maybe he wanted to become a No 8 like the great Andy Ripley or Murray Mexted. Heyneke Meyer, his coach at the Bulls then selected Spies on the wing for the Bulls in the Super 12 – a huge mistake.
The young Spies took some time to recover from that failure at the top level. He returned to No 8 and within three years played for South Africa!
There is now talk of turning the young Western Province talent, Nick Koster, into a wing as well. If that is what he wants I say go for it. But for heaven’s sake, if it is not, let the kid play in his preferred position and shine!
Gary Boshoff is a former Saru player and well-known rugby administrator.
Disclaimer: Sport24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on Sport24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Sport24.
One of the things Ruan Pienaar, Butch James, Brent Russell, Peter Grant, Meyer Bosman, Andre Pretorius, Earl Rose and Morne Steyn have in common, other than the fact that they are all top class flyhalves (except in the case of Ruan Pienaar whose preferred position is scrumhalf), is that at one time their coaches felt that flyhalf was probably not their best position and that they would be of greater value to the team in another position.
Now I know that this topic has been discussed to the point of boredom, but in my opinion it is such an important issue and one which I believe coaches get wrong more often than they get it right. It is important because the careers of two of South Africa’s greatest young talents (Pienaar and Steyn) will in all probability be decided by how they perform in the upcoming Super 14 competition.
After two good performances for the Springboks on the 2008 year-end tour, Pienaar has all but been scripted in as everyone’s first choice solution at flyhalf, this despite his pronounced preference to play scrumhalf. On the other hand Steyn has been pencilled in to alternate with him at flyhalf for the Sharks, while he will also be required to play inside centre in some games. His preferred position is flyhalf.
This, the coaches tell us, are all being done in the interest of South African rugby and ultimately in the interest of the player who will, unbeknown to himself, discover that scrumhalf/fly half is after all not his best position.
Given the opportunity
There is one thing wrong with this scenario namely: shouldn’t the players’ preference count more, especially when the player himself is prepared to compete for the position at stake. It seems as if from time to time coaches tend to assign themselves more wisdom than what they can be credited with and in the process delay or even destroys the careers of talented players.
At one stage our top coaches felt that James “would be the ideal inside centre” and given the opportunity he would make the position his own. The record shows that the few games he played centre for the Boks was way below par and the experiment was eventually dropped.
Butch returned to flyhalf where he is presently earning his living in the lucrative English Premiership.
Russell first came on the scene as a flyhalf and well as South Africa’s saving grace against Australia – he did not last long after experiments at fullback and wing did not produce the desired outcomes. He eventually settled as a wing/fullback and has not played flyhalf since.
Similarly players like Grant, Bosman, Pretorius, Steyn and Rose has been tried at centre and fullback, and all of them are presently back at flyhalf.
The fact is, the player more often than not knows best where he can add the most value to a team and that will almost always be in his preferred position. Coaches, on the other hand, look at the skill sets available to them in the context of the team and then decide to move players around to suit their game strategy to achieve the desired results. That is their job. They should not be crucified for that.
However, when the future development and careers of talented players the likes Steyn and Pienaar, run the risk of being delayed or even derailed, by selecting them in positions while they would rather play in others, rugby administrators and coaches should sit up and pay attention.
Huge mistake
I recall the case of a young Pierre Spies who played No 8 the major part of his high school career and then made the SA Schools side as an eighthman, was turned into a wing by the then schools coach Eugene Eloff. It was believed that he could become South Africa’s version of Jonah Lomu.
The question nobody asked was what and who would he rather be? Maybe he wanted to become a No 8 like the great Andy Ripley or Murray Mexted. Heyneke Meyer, his coach at the Bulls then selected Spies on the wing for the Bulls in the Super 12 – a huge mistake.
The young Spies took some time to recover from that failure at the top level. He returned to No 8 and within three years played for South Africa!
There is now talk of turning the young Western Province talent, Nick Koster, into a wing as well. If that is what he wants I say go for it. But for heaven’s sake, if it is not, let the kid play in his preferred position and shine!
Gary Boshoff is a former Saru player and well-known rugby administrator.
Disclaimer: Sport24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on Sport24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Sport24.
