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JJ Harmse
They say if you want loyalty, go and buy a dog. It certainly seems to be the case in South African rugby, where national coach Peter de Villiers cannot find one coach of stature to help him getting the Boks back to winning ways.
No, there is no pun intended with those last two words in the previous sentence, but man, have some people not painted themselves into a corner over the last couple of years!
Mr Winning Ways himself, Jake White, declared his availability to coach the Boks again, but only on his terms. Those terms include firing the current crop.
I am sure Jake could have had a strong case for a comeback had he not burnt so many bridges with SARU and other role players, such as some of the senior players in his team as well.
SARU of course, lost someone of the calibre of Heyneke Meyer three years ago when they acted against their better judgment in not appointing the former Bulls coach to the highest position and then admitted that they did not make the call purely for rugby reasons alone.
Meyer left rugby a bitterly disappointed man.
It seems that those reasons are now coming back to haunt SARU president Oregan Hoskins and his wise men at the time (remember a certain Dr Jannie Ferreira and his wisdom?).
White has painted himself into a corner, SARU has painted themselves into a corner and now we have Springbok rugby in a corner? It could have been funny if it was not that sad.
The fact that De Villiers is now phoning other coaches left, right and centre is a clear indication that all panic stations are active and spinning out of control.
The fact that Meyer, Allister Coetzee, Rassie Erasmus, Frans Ludeke and even John Mitchell have been asked to help, but declined, and someone like White has offered, but was not accepted, certainly speaks volumes for the mess we are in.
This will not only be a massive test for De Villiers to regain some credibility amongst his peers, but also for SA Rugby to show their worth.
If I am not mistaken, Friday will be the first day at the office for Jurie Roux, the new SARU CEO.
Ironically, Roux was the one person who kept De Villiers in rugby by appointing him as consultant at Maties rugby at a time the Bok coach could not find meaningful employment in the game.
He certainly knows how to tick the boxes with De Villiers and let’s hope his experiences with the Bok coach helps to establish some sort of sanity for the way ahead.
SA Rugby’s new structures are in place with a couple of energetic administrators hard at work to try and sort out the mess their predecessors have created.
One thing that is clear from all of this is that Gary Gold and Dick Muir will be toast the moment someone else agrees to take their jobs.
I am not in their shoes - and it seems no one else wants to be - but I would resign if I were.
How will Muir and Gold ever look their coach in the eye again (and vice versa) when you know that he is looking for replacements?
Surely SA Rugby should fire Gold and Muir first, as it seems inevitable, and then try and get other coaches?
These behind the back calls made to the likes of Meyer, Erasmus and co is certainly not the way to go.
De Villiers and SA Rugby would have been surprised at the response if they went about it the right way.
You see, not everybody likes backstabbing, but when a process is open, you will find it is much easier to establish some respectability and then, loyalty.
So where to now?
Can De Villiers find the right people to assist him for the November tour in less than a month? How is it possible that no one wants to be involved in the most desired team in the country?
Every boy grows up wanting to become a Springbok and every coach dreams of one day coaching the Boks.
Or not?
I am not that confident. Will De Villiers go and appoint a no-nonsense type of coach like Jimmy Stonehouse as an assistant? He has proven coaching credentials, and incidentally has a far better record with regards to transformation that any other coach in the top tier and lives for the game.
Or do you get someone that is just outside of the current game, like Alan Zondagh, and ask him to apply his academy principles to the Bok team?
Whether you go for a current coach or a retired one, it is clear that De Villiers’s stature in the game has taken a massive knock.
It is now up to the coach to stand up and be counted.
Read JJ every Sunday in Rapport.
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.
They say if you want loyalty, go and buy a dog. It certainly seems to be the case in South African rugby, where national coach Peter de Villiers cannot find one coach of stature to help him getting the Boks back to winning ways.
No, there is no pun intended with those last two words in the previous sentence, but man, have some people not painted themselves into a corner over the last couple of years!
Mr Winning Ways himself, Jake White, declared his availability to coach the Boks again, but only on his terms. Those terms include firing the current crop.
I am sure Jake could have had a strong case for a comeback had he not burnt so many bridges with SARU and other role players, such as some of the senior players in his team as well.
SARU of course, lost someone of the calibre of Heyneke Meyer three years ago when they acted against their better judgment in not appointing the former Bulls coach to the highest position and then admitted that they did not make the call purely for rugby reasons alone.
Meyer left rugby a bitterly disappointed man.
It seems that those reasons are now coming back to haunt SARU president Oregan Hoskins and his wise men at the time (remember a certain Dr Jannie Ferreira and his wisdom?).
White has painted himself into a corner, SARU has painted themselves into a corner and now we have Springbok rugby in a corner? It could have been funny if it was not that sad.
The fact that De Villiers is now phoning other coaches left, right and centre is a clear indication that all panic stations are active and spinning out of control.
The fact that Meyer, Allister Coetzee, Rassie Erasmus, Frans Ludeke and even John Mitchell have been asked to help, but declined, and someone like White has offered, but was not accepted, certainly speaks volumes for the mess we are in.
This will not only be a massive test for De Villiers to regain some credibility amongst his peers, but also for SA Rugby to show their worth.
If I am not mistaken, Friday will be the first day at the office for Jurie Roux, the new SARU CEO.
Ironically, Roux was the one person who kept De Villiers in rugby by appointing him as consultant at Maties rugby at a time the Bok coach could not find meaningful employment in the game.
He certainly knows how to tick the boxes with De Villiers and let’s hope his experiences with the Bok coach helps to establish some sort of sanity for the way ahead.
SA Rugby’s new structures are in place with a couple of energetic administrators hard at work to try and sort out the mess their predecessors have created.
One thing that is clear from all of this is that Gary Gold and Dick Muir will be toast the moment someone else agrees to take their jobs.
I am not in their shoes - and it seems no one else wants to be - but I would resign if I were.
How will Muir and Gold ever look their coach in the eye again (and vice versa) when you know that he is looking for replacements?
Surely SA Rugby should fire Gold and Muir first, as it seems inevitable, and then try and get other coaches?
These behind the back calls made to the likes of Meyer, Erasmus and co is certainly not the way to go.
De Villiers and SA Rugby would have been surprised at the response if they went about it the right way.
You see, not everybody likes backstabbing, but when a process is open, you will find it is much easier to establish some respectability and then, loyalty.
So where to now?
Can De Villiers find the right people to assist him for the November tour in less than a month? How is it possible that no one wants to be involved in the most desired team in the country?
Every boy grows up wanting to become a Springbok and every coach dreams of one day coaching the Boks.
Or not?
I am not that confident. Will De Villiers go and appoint a no-nonsense type of coach like Jimmy Stonehouse as an assistant? He has proven coaching credentials, and incidentally has a far better record with regards to transformation that any other coach in the top tier and lives for the game.
Or do you get someone that is just outside of the current game, like Alan Zondagh, and ask him to apply his academy principles to the Bok team?
Whether you go for a current coach or a retired one, it is clear that De Villiers’s stature in the game has taken a massive knock.
It is now up to the coach to stand up and be counted.
Read JJ every Sunday in Rapport.
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.
