A coach needs horses; ponies are not enough

19 April 2016 - 02:26 By Brendan Venter

The appointment of Allister Coetzee as Springbok head coach on a four-year contract came as no surprise - the make-up of his management team, however, is worrisome. Coetzee, who has well and truly served his apprenticeship, has been handed a very inexperienced management team by SA Rugby.I'm sure that newly appointed backline coach Mzwandile Stick has passion, potential and understands the game.But at the age of 31 the former Springbok Sevens player has limited senior professional coaching experience and mentoring the Kings' backline for two months in Super rugby does not count.Forwards coach Johann van Graan, who has been retained from the Heyneke Meyer era, is a highly respected young mentor but he, too, lacks experience.Having worked exclusively with Frans Ludeke and Meyer, he knows only one style of play and that's the Blue Bulls way. He has not, for example, coached in Europe and benefited from the cross-pollination of ideas.Meanwhile, Warren Adams has been named as the Springboks' strength and conditioning coach. Having worked with Warren at SA under-20 level, I can attest to the fact that he is talented, but he has never worked with senior players in his career. I must stress that the competency of these people is not the issue.It's their lack of experience that is a concern.It's almost as if SA Rugby has given the national coach an SA under-20 management staff. The senior national setup is genuinely not the platform to develop callow personnel.I firmly believe that they should first cut their teeth at under-20, Currie Cup and Super rugby level.Coetzee must now ensure that SA Rugby makes Rassie Erasmus, Jacques Nienaber, Pieter de Villiers and Louis Koen of the Mobi-Unit available to him 24/7 because he is going to need experienced people to talk to through all of the challenges that will come in thick and fast.It's no secret that Robbie Fleck and Matthew Proudfoot were Coetzee's preferred assistants, but he's a clever man who picks his battles. I'm sure Allister agreed on the whole plan knowing that he'd be able to tap into the experience of the aforementioned men from the Mobi-Unit. The foursome need to be part of every training session and in the coaching box. But if, for some reason, they're not, it will become an unbelievably big problem for SA Rugby.Coaching at professional provincial level is tough, but coaching at international level is incredibly stressful. You need a core of leaders within your management group.As a case in point, New Zealand literally selected two head coaches to support Steve Hansen. Stick and Van Graan have the potential, but when you're young you don't know what you don't know.The doctor I am at the age of 46 is not the same one I was at 26. I've always possessed commitment, but after 20 years in practice I've acquired a gut feel. The same principle applies to coaching. You can organise a training session, ensure that the intensity is high and that there's a skill component to it, but there is no substitute for experience.As a seasoned campaigner, you boast an edge because you've seen the same scenario play out on the field many times and are aware of the best course of action that cannot be learnt from a book...

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