Allister Coetzee, a victim of a crumbling South African rugby system?

27 November 2016 - 02:00 By CRAIG RAY

Allister Coetzee is ultimately responsible for the performance of the Springbok team, which has been patently below standard this year due to direct issues with coaching, planning and execution.But in a broader sense, he is also the victim of a South African rugby system that is crumbling and problems that are beyond the control of the national coach.Player conditioning, for one, is a problem and a responsibility lies both with the players themselves and their provincial unions. According to sources, before the current tour to Britain and Italy, only two players out of 31 passed a base fitness test.From a purely practical level, the coach couldn't jettison the entire squad because they failed and start again. There wasn't time to secure travel visas for another touring party.But the problems run much deeper.Provincial rugby is weak due to massive player defections to Europe and Britain. With six teams in Super Rugby, player resources have further been stretched and the amount of game time is leading to crippling injury lists.story_article_left1It was easy to come up with another 25 names that could have been playing for the Boks in November.Lack of time with players is a problem for the coach. That's why it's imperative that provinces do the groundwork and prepare the players with skills and tactical and technical understanding of the game that will allow them to seamlessly transition to test rugby.In his Times column this week, respected coach Brendan Venter wrote: "For me, calling for Coetzee's head underlines a total inability to understand the issues facing the SA Rugby fraternity."It's up to everybody within SA Rugby, right from the top down, to come up with a workable plan that'll allow the coaches to get the best out of the players."Last month's historic rugby indaba, which Venter facilitated, was a first step in developing an integrated playing and management style for South African rugby. A conditioning indaba on December 12 will follow it up.By drawing Cheetahs coach Franco Smith and Lions defence coach JP Ferreira into the Bok set-up for this tour, the duo have seen first hand the challenges that the Bok squad faces under such time constraints.And it has given both coaches the determination to go back to their unions and prepare their players with an eye to improving the Springboks as well.After the Indaba, there really is a push and a genuine sense that for the first time provincial coaches are going to work on a blueprint that changes the entire approach to player development.At boardroom level, SA Rugby is pushing to reduce the influence of the smaller unions to allow the bulk of their income and resources to be directed at Super Rugby franchises to drive elite player development.It's going to be a tough fight, but it's the only way to ensure that the Springboks are consistently challenging to the world's best, instead of occasionally rising to the top...

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