Hero in 2007, villain in 2015

24 November 2015 - 02:15 By Ross Tucker

He came. He saw. He departed. He did find the time to assure us that South Africans did indeed have skill and that he was reportedly going to teach Eben Etzebeth to pass (at least, that was the media spin on a quote that I suspect meant something subtly different). Then Eddie Jones departed, but not before a tap dance of assurances and negotiations that will now see Jones stick around long enough to help Gert Smal with on-field planning before he relocates to London for his next challenge.The lure of international prestige, a relatively less demanding calendar (in terms of both length and travel), and, perhaps, the power of the pound, were ultimately enough to deny the Stormers his expertise, and all of us, sadly, a chance to see if his vision for SA play was realistic.Jones had built up a fair amount of goodwill in South Africa by virtue of his involvement with our World Cup-winning team in 2007, and by guiding lowly regarded Japan to the sport's most stunning upset over the Springboks in September.Much of that goodwill has now been wiped away, though disproportionately more for the Stormers and their supporters, who anxiously anticipate the appointment of a worthy replacement.The coaching carousel always turns after a World Cup because it's a clear landmark used by most nations when drawing up their contracts. Therefore, signing a World Cup coach, particularly one with Jones's CV, with a start-date only a week after the World Cup ended, was always going to carry some risk. One can hardly blame a coach for being drawn to such a powerful international job and, as Jones pointed out, that job was not on the table when he signed with the Stormers.Many unhappy fans have asked where loyalty has gone, as though the professional sport they support with pay channel subscriptions, tickets and replica jerseys should somehow adhere to old-fashioned values that died when players bought their own boots and had day jobs between playing matches.I certainly would not begrudge an ambitious coach what is clearly a more attractive opportunity than the one he leaves behind.What is interesting is the uncertainty about his replacement, coupled with the search for a possible replacement for Heyneke Meyer. In both instances, there is no clear successor. People have called for the recall of Jake White or Nick Mallett, and I've even seen Carel du Plessis mentioned as the best available candidates for the Boks.Realistically, none is available, but even more concerning is that two of them - Du Plessis and Mallett - last coached South Africa in the late 1990s, which means we are talking about going back 15 years or more to find our best current coaching option.Even White was a coach produced through a good system in the early 2000s, before he hit his pinnacle with the Springboks in 2007, fully eight years ago.Surely, in a system as strong and as deep as ours, we should be producing two coaches in every single generation of players (four years) who have the technical and emotional capabilities to coach the Springboks, let alone a Super rugby team.We should have three or four viable, home-grown candidates at any time, rather than having to revisit our own honours board from 15 years before, no matter how capable those coaches might be.The problems at the top then, as they so often are, can be traced to strategy and a failure to create a clear enough continuity plan for our best coaches.Much time and energy is invested in identifying talented players, but perhaps more needs to go into identifying talented coaches.What remains in the absence of this investment is hope and luck. Sometimes luck will produce world-class coaches (Mallett, for instance) and succession will look easy.Other times, luck runs out, and then in the absence of strategic planning, circumstances ("Thanks for the visit Eddie") leave one floundering, adrift and nostalgic.Ah, those were the days. Let's hope luck plays us a good hand soon. Until the next time, that is...

There’s never been a more important time to support independent media.

From World War 1 to present-day cosmopolitan South Africa and beyond, the Sunday Times has been a pillar in covering the stories that matter to you.

For just R80 you can become a premium member (digital access) and support a publication that has played an important political and social role in South Africa for over a century of Sundays. You can cancel anytime.

Already subscribed? Sign in below.



Questions or problems? Email helpdesk@timeslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00.