The fact that the three most important positions within the SA Rugby Union - the national coach, the CEO and the president - are in doubt at the moment is of massive concern. Heyneke Meyer relinquished his post in December, CEO Jurie Roux is under unbelievable pressure, and there are growing calls for president Oregan Hoskins to resign.In the coming weeks Saru could potentially be without any leadership.The appointment of the new national coach should be seen as a matter of urgency - time is of the essence. The prevailing issue is that there is no process regarding the appointment of the national coach. And the consequence of there not being a process is that SA rugby is in a critical position.A long-term appointment rather than a short-term fix is definitely the way to go to fill the vacancy left by Meyer. If Saru opts to appoint Rassie Erasmus, they should allow him the full four-year term to work his magic. While Allister Coetzee has been touted as an alternative candidate, if Saru was serious about employing him they would have interviewed rather than text-messaged him. Ultimately, Coetzee was never a genuine option because he was not interviewed by a quality panel.I believe that the longer the men in suits stall regarding the process, the more the national coach will be chasing his tail when he eventually assumes the hot seat. Prior to the professional era, you could literally get together as a team on a Wednesday, train on a Thursday and play on a Saturday. However, these days, if your rivals are prepared and you are disorganised, you're dead. And, in this case, preparation is built around the concept that the national coach will be able to get the best 15 players out on the field during the June Test series against Ireland and post-Super rugby.The new Springbok coach must be appointed as soon as possible so he can start planning.He needs to visit the local franchises and talk to the coaches and players. This time around, it's non-negotiable for the franchises to work together with the national setup. Under no circumstances can it be a competition. Differences simply need to be put aside for the benefit of South African rugby.The national coach will have to sit with each of the five franchise coaches and come up with an individualised solution in terms of when key players are going to play and when they will be rested.Many assume that a national coach only works the week before a Test match, but by then the groundwork has been done. To draw an analogy, you won't study for an exam the week before, but rather months in advance. Because the Springbok coach is free from day-to-day coaching, it affords him the liberty to fly to Argentina, Australasia and Japan to view Super rugby matches. Watching rugby on TV is a spectator sport. As a coach, you witness highlights and moments of brilliance, but not the hard yards. When examining a player's off-the ball discipline and work-rate, it's amazing how little you actually see on TV. There is no way that a professional coach can gain a true understanding of how good a player is, and how well the latter is able to read the game by watching on the box...