Fergie route might be the way to go for South Africa

13 November 2011 - 02:27 By Dan Retief
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Dan Retief
Dan Retief

National rugby side needs a manager more than it needs a coach

AS SA Rugby's executive council ponders the choice of a new Springbok coach and the names of every possible candidate are proffered in the press, it might be time to change tack.

We've had the following sequence of coaches: John Williams, Gerrie Sonnekus, Ian McIntosh, Kitch Christie, Andre Markgraaff, Carel du Plessis, Nick Mallett, Harry Viljoen, Rudolf Straeuli, Jake White, Peter de Villiers.

That's 11 in 19 post-isolation years, with White and De Villiers, who between them clung to the merry-go-round for eight years, putting a better complexion on the perils of a position that used to be described as the poisoned chalice.

Now we're at it again and everyone seems to be clutching at who the next coach might be, while those who might have an interest wait to see what credentials will be required when the specs for the job are released.

But a different approach is necessary.

Invariably the person appointed ends up doing everything but coaching. We need to break that mould.

Perhaps what is needed could be termed the "Man U Method". Alex Ferguson has just completed 25 amazingly successful years in arguably one of the hardest sports jobs and his accomplishment suggests a new strategy for the Springboks.

Ferguson is not a coach. He is a manager. He is the man ultimately in charge. He makes the crucial decisions, he wields the big stick, he carries the blame but he has around him others who groom the team, who deal with the game itself and who ensure that Manchester United always have the means to stay one step ahead.

That's what the Springboks need - a manager. A director of coaching if you will. Someone who fronts up for the Springboks, who is in charge of the way South Africa plays rugby, who appoints the coaches, the selectors, the scouts and ensures excellence from schoolboy level to the international arena. Someone in step with the traditions and values of Springbok rugby but with the vision and imagination to go beyond.

Whoever gets the job should have a presence in rugby. His status in the game should be unquestioned and he should command respect, from within the team and without. Ideally I believe he should be a former Springbok; someone with a deep knowledge of international rugby because it is in tests that the status of a nation is decided.

He will be in charge of overall strategy but below him he would have hands-on or line managers in charge of various facets. In this way it might be possible to have a highly esteemed figure who deals with issues that so often sidetrack coaches - the media, the government, rugby's disciplinary processes, the inevitable changes in the laws - to allow the coaches to get on with coaching.

If a foreigner needs to be brought in this would make it easier.

We're looking for an exceptional person and it is a concern that Saru's executive council, charged with drawing up the job specifications and inviting and considering applications before making a recommendation to the general council for ratification, is bereft of members forged in the furnace of test rugby.

Saru president Oregan Hoskins heads an Exco that consists of Mark Alexander (deputy president), James Stoffberg (vice-president), Gary Meyer (Natal Sharks), Boet Fick (Blue Bulls), Dawie Groenewald (GW), Pat Kuhn (WP), Monde Tabata (independent), Mputumi Damane (independent), Piet Heymans (SA Rugby Players' Association), Jurie Roux (Saru CEO) and Basil Haddad (Saru chief financial officer).

Not much real rugby there. One trusts egos will be put aside to do the best for Springbok rugby; that lateral thinking will be applied and help will be sought, for it is crucial that we get this one right.

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