Baxter's record is worse than Coetzee's!

Cape Town - Springbok coach Allister Coetzee has been absolutely lambasted in the media this week following yet another 'record breaking' - for all the wrong reasons - defeat to Ireland in Dublin last Saturday.

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It's been brutal for Coetzee, whose greatest victory could well be escaping the axe before the end of the year.

A lot has been made of Coetzee's results at the helm of the national side with his record heading into the Test against France this weekend, reading: Played 22, won 9, lost 11, drawn 2 for a win percentage of 41% - which ranks him stone last (by some distance) among the six Springbok coaches to have overseen 22 Tests or more.

However, it makes for interesting reading when contrasting Coetzee's woes with those of Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter who has flown pretty much under the radar in terms of his troubles in charge.

Baxter is currently in his second stint as Bafana coach, having first coached the side between 2004-2005 when he quit, ironically, after failing to qualify the side for the 2006 Soccer World Cup in Germany.

Baxter would then be re-named national coach in April of this year.

In his first two-year stint in charge, Baxter's record read: Played 23, won 10, lost 7, drew 6 for a win percentage of 43%.

Baxter's current tenure has resulted in the following analysis: Played 7, won 2, lost 5 for a win percentage of 29%.

Add those two stints together and one gets the following: Played 30, won 12, lost 12, drawn 6 - for a win percentage of exactly 40%.

That's right folks, lower than that of Coetzee's...

Baxter has just overseen yet another failed World Cup qualification attempt for next year's tournament in Russia after leading his side to the wooden spoon position when only top spot in the four-team group would've sufficed.

No sign as yet of Baxter quitting for a second time.

In Baxter's defence, Bafana are ranked 74th in the world and 17th in Africa. With only five African countries eligible for a World Cup as it currently stands, it's perhaps no surprise Bafana's players will be watching on TV.

Coetzee has no worries about not qualifying for the next Rugby World Cup in 2019 as the Boks are already in.

His biggest challenge lies in convincing SA Rugby - and the South African fans - that he's still the right man for the job.